Macro Programming Guide Contents
Introduction ...... 4 About this resource ...... 4 About additional resources ...... 5
Understanding automation ...... 8 What is automation? ...... 8 Which automation environments are supported? ...... 9 What is VBA?...... 10 What is VSTA?...... 12 What are the main elements of automation? ...... 13 What is an object model? ...... 14 What is a class?...... 14 What is a collection? ...... 15 What is a property?...... 15 What is a method? ...... 16 What is an event? ...... 16 What is an enumeration? ...... 16 What is a constant?...... 16 How is automation coding structured? ...... 16 Declaring variables ...... 17 Using functions and subroutines...... 18 Ending lines...... 19 Including comments ...... 19 Allocating memory ...... 19 Defining scope ...... 20 Using Boolean comparison and assignment ...... 20 Using logical and bitwise operators ...... 21 Providing message boxes and input boxes ...... 22 Referencing objects ...... 22 Referencing collections ...... 23 Using object shortcuts...... 25 Providing event handlers...... 25
Getting started with macros ...... 28 Setting up the automation feature ...... 28 To install the VBA and VSTA features ...... 28 To specify VBA options ...... 28 Using the Macros toolbar ...... 29 Using the Macro Manager docker ...... 30 Using the Macro Editor ...... 31 Using the Project Explorer ...... 32 Using the Code window ...... 33 Using the Properties window ...... 37 Using the Macro Editor toolbars ...... 37 Using the Object Browser ...... 38 Using the VSTA Editor ...... 43
Creating macros ...... 45 Creating macro projects ...... 45
Macro Programming Guide Contents 1 To create a macro project ...... 46 To add a dialog box to a macro project...... 47 To add a code module to a macro project...... 47 To add a class module to a macro project...... 48 Writing macros ...... 48 To add a macro to a macro project ...... 48 To edit a VBA macro ...... 49 To delete a VBA macro ...... 49 Recording macros ...... 49 To record and save a macro ...... 50 To record a temporary macro ...... 51 Running macros ...... 52 To run a saved macro ...... 52 To run a temporary macro ...... 52 Debugging macros ...... 53
Making macros user-friendly ...... 57 Providing toolbars for macros ...... 57 To create a macro toolbar ...... 58 To add buttons to a macro toolbar ...... 58 To associate an image or icon with a macro ...... 58 To set a caption for a macro ...... 58 To set a tooltip for a macro...... 59 Providing dialog boxes for macros ...... 59 Setting up dialog boxes...... 60 Coding dialog boxes ...... 63 Providing user interaction for macros ...... 66 Capturing mouse clicks ...... 67 Capturing mouse drags...... 68 Capturing coordinates...... 68 Providing documentation for macros ...... 69
Organizing and deploying macros ...... 71 Organizing macros ...... 71 Deploying macros ...... 71 To export a GMS file ...... 72 To import a GMS file ...... 72 To export workspace features ...... 72 To import workspace features...... 72
Understanding the object models ...... 74 Understanding the object-model hierarchy ...... 74 Working with the Application object ...... 75 Working with documents ...... 75 Creating documents ...... 83 Opening documents ...... 84 Activating documents ...... 84 Setting document properties...... 85 Displaying documents ...... 86 Modifying documents ...... 88 Creating command groups for documents ...... 88 Saving documents...... 88 Exporting files from documents ...... 89
Macro Programming Guide Contents 2 Publishing documents to PDF ...... 91 Printing documents...... 92 Closing documents ...... 93 Working with pages ...... 94 Creating pages ...... 96 Activating pages ...... 97 Reordering pages ...... 98 Sizing pages ...... 98 Modifying pages ...... 99 Deleting pages ...... 100 Working with layers ...... 100 Creating layers ...... 102 Activating layers ...... 102 Locking and hiding layers ...... 102 Reordering layers...... 103 Renaming layers ...... 103 Importing files into layers ...... 103 Deleting layers...... 104 Working with shapes ...... 104 Creating shapes...... 115 Determining shape type ...... 124 Selecting shapes ...... 124 Duplicating shapes ...... 128 Transforming shapes ...... 128 Coloring shapes...... 132 Applying effects to shapes ...... 137 Searching for shapes ...... 139 Deleting shapes...... 140 Working with import filters and export filters ...... 140 Working with import filters...... 140 Working with export filters ...... 142 Arranging open documents ...... 144 Understanding the layout structure ...... 145 Combining views...... 147 Cascading views ...... 148 Tiling views ...... 149
Glossary...... 152
Index ...... 158
Macro Programming Guide Contents 3 Introduction
Welcome to the Macro Programming Guide! This resource can help you explore the macro-related features and functions of CorelDRAW® and Corel® PHOTO-PAINT™. An understanding of these features and functions can help you automate tasks or develop commercial solutions that integrate with the software.
In this resource This resource contains the following sections.
Section Description
“Understanding automation” on page 8 Introduction to the concepts of automation and macros, and to the macro-programming formats supported by the software
“Getting started with macros” on page 28 Overview of the macro-related tools and features of the software
“Creating macros” on page 45 How to write, record, run, and debug macros
“Making macros user-friendly” on page 57 How to enhance the usability of macros through dialog boxes, toolbar buttons, user interaction, and documentation
“Organizing and deploying macros” on How to organize and deploy the macros you page 71 create
“Understanding the object models” on Overview of the most important features and page 74 functions of the CorelDRAW object model
Also included is a glossary (see page 152), which defines many of the key terms used in this documentation. Most of the code examples provided in this documentation are written in VBA.
In this sectionl This section contains the following topics: • “About this resource” on page 4 • “About additional resources” on page 5
About this resource This resource assumes that the reader has experience with at least one procedural programming language, such as BASIC, Microsoft® Visual Basic® (VB), C, C++, Java™, Pascal, Cobol, or Fortran.
Macro Programming Guide Introduction 4 This resource does not describe the basics of procedural programming (such as functions, conditional branching, and looping). Therefore, before using this documentation, non-programmers are strongly advised to learn basic programming in a language such as Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA). Most of the code examples provided in this documentation are written in VBA. For more detailed instruction on the VB programming environment and on VBA, see Microsoft Visual Basic Help, which is available from the Help menu in the Macro Editor. For a more basic introduction to macros, please see the topic “Working with macros” in the main Help file for the application. You can access the main Help from within an application by clicking Help Help topics.
Documentation conventions The following table explains the documentation conventions used in this resource.
Wherever you see this You’ll find
A note — describes required conditions for performing a procedure or presents other essential information
A tip — describes helpful information such as shortcuts, alternate methods, or benefits that are related to a procedure bold text The name of a control or other element on the user interface
About additional resources This topic describes how to get even more information about macros or the software.
For more information about macros This software provides additional resources that contain helpful information about macros. These additional resources, located in the Data folder for the installed software, are described in the following table.
Resource Description and filename
Macro Help for CorelDRAW Provides comprehensive information about the CorelDRAW object model and the macro-related features and functions of the application draw_om.chm
Macro Programming Guide Introduction 5 Resource Description and filename
Macro Help for Corel PHOTO-PAINT Provides comprehensive information about the Corel PHOTO-PAINT object model and the macro-related features and functions of the application pp_om.chm
Object-model diagram for CorelDRAW Provides a hierarchical representation of the CorelDRAW object model CorelDRAW Object Model Diagram.pdf
Object-model diagram for Corel PHOTO-PAINT Provides a hierarchical representation of the Corel PHOTO-PAINT object model Corel PHOTO-PAINT Object Model Diagram.pdf For a more basic introduction to macros, please see the topic “Working with macros” in the main Help file for the application. You can access the main Help from within an application by clicking Help Help topics.
For more information about the software A variety of additional resources for the software are also available to you. For comprehensive information about the features in the software, you can consult its installed documentation: • The program group for the software (on the Windows® Start menu) includes a Documentation folder, which provides easy access to various installed resources. • Each program offers in-product Help, displayed by clicking Help Help topics. For even more information about the software, see the following Web-based resources.
Resource Description and URL
CorelDRAW website Provides the latest news, tips and tricks, and information about upgrades www.corel.com/coreldraw
Corel® Support Services website Provides prompt and accurate information about product features, specifications, pricing, availability, services, and technical support www.corel.com/support
Corel® Knowledge Base™ Provides a repository of articles written by the Corel Technical Support Services team in response to questions by users www.corel.com/knowledgebase
CorelDRAW (and Corel DESIGNER) online Provides interaction with other users through sharing community experiences, asking questions, and receiving help and suggestions www.coreldraw.com
Macro Programming Guide Introduction 6 You can submit any comments or suggestions about the software by using the contact information provided at www.corel.com/contact.
Macro Programming Guide Introduction 7 Understanding automation
Before you begin to work with macros, you need to understand the concept of automation. This section provides basic information about automation and about the macro-programming formats that are supported by the software.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “What is automation?” on page 8 • “Which automation environments are supported?” on page 9 • “What are the main elements of automation?” on page 13 • “How is automation coding structured?” on page 16
What is automation? Many actions that you perform in the software can be combined with other, related actions into a single automated solution. Automating repetitive tasks saves time, reduces effort, and lets you perform operations that are too complex to perform manually. Automation can be used by programmers and nonprogrammers alike. This documentation does not teach programming skills to nonprogrammers; rather, it helps experienced programmers develop useful solutions within the software. If you are not a programmer, you may want to refer to other programming-related resources before continuing to read this documentation.
What is a macro? Most macros are created to automate a series of tasks within an application. The simplest meaning of the term “macro” is the recording of a group of related actions that can be played back automatically, in sequence, whenever you need to perform them. Macros consist of instructions that are written in a programming language, and some programming languages provide access to additional, more advanced, actions that cannot be recorded. For the purposes of this documentation, a macro refers to a coded solution that performs tasks in the application by automating functions and subroutines (see “Using functions and subroutines” on page 18). Although you can record a sequence of actions in the software, the real power of automation is that you can add conditions and looping mechanisms to a recording. As an example, let’s consider a simple macro that applies a red fill and a 1-point outline to a selected shape. By adding a condition and a looping mechanism to the code, you can produce a macro that seeks out each selected shape and applies only the fill to text shapes and only the outline to all other shape types. After you create a macro, you can ensure that it has the desired outcome by stepping through its code one line a a time, or “debugging” it. When you are happy with the macro, you can keep it for future use and even share it with others.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 8 Which sample macros are available? The software includes sample VBA macros, which supply additional functionality, demonstrate automation in the suite, and provide sample code. The following sample VBA macros are included for CorelDRAW: • File converter (FileConverter.gms) — converts a vector or bitmap to a specified vector or bitmap format. You can choose export parameters by using dialog boxes associated with particular filters. You can also save each page as a separate file and set various page properties, such as size, orientation, and background color. The following file formats are supported: AI, BMP, CDR, CGM, CMX, CPT, DSF, DXF, EPS, GIF, JPEG, PCT, PNG, PPF, SVG, SWF, TIF, WMF, and WPG. • Calendar wizard (CalendarWizard.gms) — generates customized calendars. You can choose the date range, layout, font, color, language, and many other options. You can also add holidays and moon phases. The following sample VBA macro is included for Corel PHOTO-PAINT: • HTML slide show creator (Slideshow.gms) — generates an HTML slide show from the images you specify. Open files can be added, ordered, and published as a series of HTML files, each of which displays one image and provides navigation buttons. You can create a title, alternate text, and a name for each slide. You can also choose a location and a name for the delineation folder; select the image folder; and specify notes, a caption, a URL, and more.
Which automation environments are supported? For CorelDRAW versions 6 through 9, the only method of automating tasks was using the Corel SCRIPT™ language. Solution developers used Corel SCRIPT to create intelligent mini-applications for drawing shapes, repositioning and resizing shapes, opening and closing documents, and setting styles within CorelDRAW. Although the Corel SCRIPT language was useful for automating basic tasks, a more flexible and powerful solution became necessary. For version 10, CorelDRAW was enhanced with support for the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) engine, which handled behind-the-scenes automation. The addition of VBA made CorelDRAW immediately accessible to millions of VBA and Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) developers around the world. Since then, VBA has been supported by every version of the CorelDRAW software suite. More recently, the software suite added support for Microsoft® Visual Studio® Tools for Applications (VSTA), the successor to VBA. In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you can automate tasks by using VBA or VSTA to create a macro, or by using Corel SCRIPT to create a script. A macro is the better choice if you want to write the code that is required to carry out the task (by using VBA or VSTA), while a script is the better choice if you want to record the steps that are required to carry out the task (by using Corel SCRIPT). For information on using Corel SCRIPT with Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see “Working with scripts” in the main Help file for Corel PHOTO-PAINT (corelpp.chm). By supporting VBA and VSTA, the software suite offers a platform for the following: • developing powerful corporate graphical solutions — such as automated ticket generators, customized calendars, and batch file-processors • streamlining workflows — such as with on-the-fly page-layout mechanisms
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 9 • customizing default software features — such as the creation, alignment, or transformation of objects • ...and much more! VBA and VSTA each provide their own fully integrated development environment (IDE), with contextual pop- up lists, syntax highlighting, line-by-line debugging, and visual designer windows. These features are particularly helpful to inexperienced developers. For more information on VBA and VSTA, see the following topics: • “What is VBA?” on page 10 • “What is VSTA?” on page 12
What is VBA? Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a built-in programming environment that can be used to automate repetitive functions and create intelligent solutions in the software that supports it. VBA is a subset of the Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) object-driven programming environment. Usually, VBA is integrated into another application to customize functionality within that application. VBA is both a language and an editor. The VBA language cannot be used without its editor, and the VBA editor is the only utility in which VBA code can be edited or VBA programs can be run. The VBA language is an event-driven programming language. In other words, it is used to write code that produces a response to an action, such as clicking a button or choosing an option from a list box. When the action occurs, the appropriate event is called, and the code for that event is executed. Events can be simple or complex. For instance, you can code a single line that displays a message box or write an entire procedure that interacts with a database. With traditional procedural programming (or “object-driven programming”), the program starts at the first line and executes one line at a time. VB provides an example of an object-driven programming environment. Most of the code examples provided in this documentation are written in VBA. The VBA editor — called the “Macro Editor” (formerly the “Visual Basic Editor”) in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT — is an integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you manipulate the objects that are exposed by the object model of the application. To help you code macros, the Macro Editor provides context-sensitive Help for all the object-model elements that are available to you. VBA is an in-process automation controller. In other words, VBA can be used to control software features that can be automated, and VBA runs efficiently by bypassing the interprocess synchronization mechanisms. However, the automation that the in-process VBA can access can also be accessed by the following: • external out-of-process automation controllers (OLE clients) • applications that are developed in programming languages (such as VB, Visual C++, Windows® Script Host, and C++) that can be used to develop OLE clients • the VBA engines of other applications VBA provides a set of tools for customizing the graphical user interface of the software. These tools let you process and present data efficiently and effectively. Advantages of using VBA include the following: • familiarity of the VB language • rapid application development (RAD) IDE
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 10 • fast run-time performance of the resulting integrated solutions • extensible forms package that supports ActiveX® controls for creating user interfaces • access to the full Windows application programming interface (API) and the underlying file system • connectivity to corporate data • integration with other software that is based on component object models (COMs) VBA lets you customize an application to suit your needs, or even integrate it with another VBA-enabled application by referencing the object-model components of the second application. Although VBA was developed by Microsoft and is built into almost all its desktop applications (including Microsoft Office), Microsoft licenses the technology to other companies (including Corel Corporation; Autodesk, Inc., in AutoCAD®; and IntelliCAD Technology Consortium, in IntelliCAD®). Software products that support VBA can typically be used to control each other, and they can even be used to control some software products that do not support VBA. Consequently, you can use VBA to build solutions in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT that access a wide variety of other software products: databases, word processors, XML editors, and more. For a complete list of applications that support VBA, see the Microsoft website.
How does VBA differ from VB and VBScript? The VB programming system is an advanced set of programming tools that provides advanced functionality and components for the Windows operating system and other Windows-based programs. For example, unlike VBA or VBScript, VB lets you create application extensions (DLL files) and stand-alone executable programs (EXE files). (The programs that you create with VBA must run inside the host application.) VB is a “visual”version of the BASIC programming language — that is, it provides visual cues within the editor. As a result, VB is an easy language to learn. In addition, Microsoft has greatly enhanced the original BASIC language, so that VB is both powerful and fast (although not as powerful as Java or C++, nor as fast as C). VBA is a subset of the VB programming language, and it uses the programming structure of VB to manipulate the object-model elements that are exposed by an application. The manipulation of these objects results in small packets of code procedures within the application. These code procedures and resulting projects are called “add- ins.” VBScript (sometimes referred to as Microsoft Visual Basic, Scripting Edition) is also a subset of the VB programming language. VBScript is a Web-based HTML document scripting language.
How does VBA differ from Java and JavaScript? VBA is similar to Java and JavaScript® in that it is a high-level, procedural programming language with full garbage collection and very little memory-pointer support. (For more information, see “Allocating memory” on page 19.) In addition, code that is developed in VBA, much like code developed in Java and JavaScript, supports on-demand compilation and can be executed without being compiled. VBA is also similar to JavaScript in that it cannot be executed as a stand-alone application. JavaScript is embedded within Web pages as a mechanism for manipulating the document object model (DOM) of the Web browser. Likewise, VBA programs are executed inside a host environment (such as CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT) to manipulate the object model of the host. Most VBA applications can be compiled to p-code to make them run more quickly, although the difference is hardly noticeable because of the sophistication of today’s computer hardware. Similar compilation is possible with Java, but not with JavaScript.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 11 Finally, whereas VBA uses a single equals sign ( = ) for both comparison and assignment, Java and JavaScript use a single equals sign ( = ) for assignment and two equals signs ( == ) for Boolean comparison. (For more information, see “Using Boolean comparison and assignment” on page 20.)
How does VBA differ from C and C++? Like C and C++, VB uses functions. In VB, functions can be used to return a value, but subroutines cannot be used in that way. However, functions are used in C and C++, regardless of whether you want to return a value. (For more information, see “Using functions and subroutines” on page 18.) VBA allocates and frees memory transparently. In C and C++, however, the developer is responsible for most memory management. As a result, using strings in VBA is even simpler than using the CString class in C++.
Finally, whereas VBA uses a single equals sign ( = ) for both comparison and assignment, C and C++ use a single equals sign ( = ) for assignment and two equals signs ( == ) for Boolean comparison. (For more information,see “Using Boolean comparison and assignment” on page 20.)
How does VBA differ from WSH? Windows Script Host (WSH) is an out-of-process automation controller that lets you do occasional scripting and automation of Windows tasks and can be used to control software. Although WSH is a useful addition to the Windows operating system, WSH scripts tend to be slow because they must run out of process, and they cannot be compiled (and must be interpreted as they are executed). WSH is a host for a number of scripting languages, each of which has its own syntax. However, the standard language that WSH uses is a macro language that resembles VB, so for standard scripts, the syntax is the same as in VBA.
What is VSTA? The successor to VBA, Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) is based on Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. In CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the VSTA feature supports the .NET framework and enables development in two programming languages: Visual Basic .NET and Visual C#. Most of the code examples provided in this documentation are written in VBA. The VSTA Editor in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT is an integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you create VSTA solutions for the software.
To use the VSTA macro features with CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you must have Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, Professional, Ultimate, or Premium installed. If you install Microsoft Visual Studio after installing CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, you must re-install the VSTA macro features by modifying your CorelDRAW Graphics Suite installation.
How does VSTA compare with VBA? Both VSTA and VBA allow you to create powerful macro solutions. With VSTA, you use the VSTA Editor as an IDE, and you use Visual Basic .NET or Visual C# as a programming language. With VBA, you use the Macro Editor as an IDE, and you use VBA as a programming language. If you want to perform any of the following tasks, you can use either VSTA or VBA:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 12 • customize or extend the features of the software • interact with other applications that use Visual Basic 6 — or with other compatible components that are external to the software • interact with Web-based services • customize the IDE with add-ins • create macro projects — with multi-threading support, if desired • access macro projects programmatically • generate macro code dynamically • store macro code in a pre-compiled format • hide macro code from other macro authors • debug macro projects • create customized user interfaces for macro projects However, if you want to perform any of the following tasks, you must use VSTA: • access the .NET framework natively — to support using Managed Add-in Framework (MAF), referencing .NET assemblies directly, running customized code on the Common Language Runtime (CLR), enforcing .NET security policies, or creating user interfaces by using .NET WinForms • fully customize the IDE • create macro projects that are certified to run on Windows • create macro projects that support 64-bit processors • create macro projects that support server-side customizations • create macro projects that support all data types, including BigDecimal and Int64 • create macro projects and macro assemblies that persist without the use of structured storage • open and modify macro projects in Visual Studio • compile macro projects to DLL assemblies • run macro projects out of process • run macro projects without causing the host application to stop execution at errors or breakpoints • isolate macro projects from one another; run macro projects independently, and stop them during runtime without affecting other running projects • author macros within managed code • prevent servers from running customized user interfaces for macro projects
What are the main elements of automation? If you’ve ever developed object-oriented code in C++, Delphi, or Java, you’re already familiar with programming-related concepts such as “objects,” “classes,” “properties,” and “methods.” However, let’s reexamine these terms as they apply to automating CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
In this topic This topic contains the following subtopics: • “What is an object model?” on page 14
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 13 • “What is a class?” on page 14 • “What is a collection?” on page 15 • “What is a property?” on page 15 • “What is a method?” on page 16 • “What is an event?” on page 16 • “What is an enumeration?” on page 16 • “What is a constant?” on page 16
What is an object model? An object model represents the hierarchy of items (or “objects”) that make up an application and defines the interrelationships of the objects within that hierarchy. In an object model, each object is a child of another object, which is a child of yet another object, and so on. Furthermore, each object in an object model is defined by a property, a method, or an event, or a combination of these items. Besides providing a high level of structure, an object model also lets you use object types (or “classes”) in various ways. For example, a Shape object of type “group” is used to contain other Shape objects, each of which is from type “group” or some other type, such as “rectangle,” “curve,” or “text.” This high level of organization makes the object model easy to use, yet powerful.
How is an object model used in automation? Automating CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT is accomplished by using the object model of the application to access the various objects in a document and make changes to those objects. In CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the Application object represents the top of the object hierarchy: the program itself. All objects are children or grandchildren (or great-grandchildren, and so on) of the application. Starting with the Application object, you can “drill down” through the layers of hierarchy in the object model until you find the desired, and usually the more specific, object. To reference the desired object, you must use a standard notation to separate each level of the object hierarchy. As in many object-oriented languages, the automation environment requires the use of a period or “dot operator” ( . ) to indicate that the object on the right is a member (or child) of the object on the left. Application.Documents(1).Pages(1).Layers(1).Shapes(1).Name = "ABC" An object requires its full hierarchical (or “fully qualified”) reference unless a shortcut is available to it (or unless it has an implicit or implied meaning). An object shortcut is merely a syntactic replacement for the long-hand version of an object. For example, the shortcut object ActiveLayer replaces the long-hand version Application.ActiveDocument.ActivePage.ActiveLayer, while the object shortcut ActiveSelection replaces the long-hand version Application.ActiveDocument.Selection. For more information on object shortcuts, see “Using object shortcuts” on page 25.
What is a class? A class is the definition or description of an object. A class outlines the properties, methods, and events that apply to a type of object in an application; it acts as a template for all objects of that type class. To use a
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 14 metaphor, the class “car” is a small vehicle with an engine and four wheels. An object is an instance of a class. To extend the car metaphor, the actual, physical car purchased for the purposes of driving is an object (that is, an instance of the class “car”). In the context of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, each open document is an instance of the Document class, each page in the document is an instance of the Page class, and each layer (and each shape on each layer) are more instances of more classes. For example, Document represents the Document class in the software program. However, ActiveDocument represents an object within that class because it makes specific reference to one object. As previously discussed, objects are often made up of other smaller objects. For example, a car contains four objects of the class “wheel,” two objects of the class “headlight,” and so on. Each of these child objects has the same properties and methods of its class-type. This parent/child relationship of objects is an important one to recognize, particularly when referencing an individual object. Some classes “inherit” features from their parents. For example, in the context of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the Shape type has many subtypes (or “inherited types”), including Rectangle, Ellipse, Curve, and Tex t . All these subtypes can make use of the basic members of the Shape type, including methods for moving and transforming the shape and for setting its color. However, the subtypes also have their own specialist members; for example, a Rectangle can have corner radii, whereas Tex t has an associated Font property.
What is a collection? A collection is similar to an array of objects; it is an object that contains a group of objects that are similar in type. These objects share the same properties, methods, and events, and they are uniquely identified within the collection by their index number or their name. Collection objects act in the same manner and are always plural.
For example, Documents represent the Documents collection class in the software program. However, Documents.Item(1) references the first Document object in that collection.
What is a property? A property is like an adjective in that it represents an attribute or characteristic quality of an object. Properties can be returned or set, or they can be read-only. Most classes have properties. As an illustration, the properties of the class “car” are that it is small, it has an engine, and it has four wheels. Every instance of the class “car” (that is, every object in that class) also has properties such as color, speed, and number of seats. Read-only properties are fixed by the design of the class; for example, the number of wheels or seats does not (usually) vary from car to car. However, other properties can be changed after the object has been created; for example, the speed of the car can go up and down, and, with a bit of help, its color can be changed. In the context of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Document objects have a name, a resolution, and horizontal and vertical ruler units; individual shapes have outline properties and fill properties, as well as a position and a rotation factor; and text objects have text properties, which may include the text itself. For example, ActiveDocument.Name represents the Name property of a Document object; it specifies the name of the active document.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 15 What is a method? A method is like a verb in that it represents an action that can be performed by or on an object. In the example of a class “car,” the car can be made to go faster and slower, so two methods for the class are “accelerate” and “decelerate.” In the context of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, documents have methods for creating new pages, layers have methods for creating new shapes, and shapes have methods for applying transformations and effects. For example, ActiveDocument.Close represents the Close method of a Document object; it closes the active document.
What is an event? An event is like a noun in that it represents an action that takes place within an object. An event is triggered by an action, such as a mouse click, a key press, or a system timer. An event can be coded to trigger appropriate response in its object.
For example, the ActiveDocument.AfterSave event triggers an action in the Document object after it has been saved.
What is an enumeration? An enumeration (also called an “enumerated type”) represents a fixed value in the procedures and functions of the coding for a macro. Whereas a variable temporarily stores a changing data value, the value of an enumeration does not change.
What is a constant? A constant is an instance of an enumeration, and an enumeration groups similar constants together.
For example, cdrPageOrientation is an enumeration, yet it contains several constants, including cdrPortrait and cdrLandscape.
How is automation coding structured? Your programming knowledge should help you learn to automate the software, regardless of your level of experience with Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) or Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA).
In this topic This topic contains the following subtopics: • “Declaring variables” on page 17 • “Using functions and subroutines” on page 18 • “Ending lines” on page 19 • “Including comments” on page 19 • “Allocating memory” on page 19
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 16 • “Defining scope” on page 20 • “Using Boolean comparison and assignment” on page 20 • “Using logical and bitwise operators” on page 21 • “Providing message boxes and input boxes” on page 22 • “Referencing objects” on page 22 • “Referencing collections” on page 23 • “Using object shortcuts” on page 25 • “Providing event handlers” on page 25 The Macro Editor formats all VBA coding for you (see “Formatting code automatically” on page 34). The only way to customize the formatting is to change the size of the indentations. VBA can be used to create object-oriented classes. However, this function is a feature of the programming language and is therefore not discussed in detail in this documentation.
Declaring variables In VBA, the construction for declaring variables is as follows: Dim foobar As Integer
The built-in data types are Byte, Boolean, Integer, Long, Single, Double, String, Variant, and several other less-used types including Date, Decimal, and Object. Variables can be declared anywhere within the body of a function, or at the top of the current module. However, it is generally a good idea to declare a variable before it is used; otherwise, the compiler interprets it as a Variant, and inefficiencies can be incurred at run time.
Booleans take False to be 0 and True to be any other value, although converting from a Boolean to a Long results in True being converted to a value of –1. To get more information about one of the built-in data types, type it in the Code window of the Macro Editor, select it, and then press F1. Data structures can be built by using the following VBA syntax: Public Type fooType item1 As Integer item2 As String End Type Dim myTypedItem As fooType
The items within a variable declared as type fooType are accessed by using dot notation: myTypedItem.item1 = 5
Declaring strings Using strings is much simpler in VBA than in C. In VBA, strings can be added together, truncated, searched forwards and backwards, and passed as simple arguments to functions.
To add two strings together in VBA, simply use the concatenation operator ( & ) or the addition operator ( + ):
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 17 Dim string1 As String, string2 As String string2 = string1 & " more text" + " even more text"
In VBA, there are many functions for manipulating strings, including InStr(), Left(), Mid(), Right(), Len(), and Trim().
Declaring enumerations To declare an enumeration in VBA, use the following construction: Public Enum fooEnum ItemOne ItemTwo ItemThree End Enum
By default, the first item in an enumerated type is assigned a value of 0.
Declaring arrays
To declare an array in VBA, use parentheses — that is, the ( and ) symbols: Dim barArray (4) As Integer The value defines the index of the last item in the array. Because array indexes are zero-based by default, there are five elements in the preceding sample array (that is, elements 0 thru 4, inclusive).
Arrays can be resized by using ReDim. For example, the following VBA code adds an extra element to barArray but preserves the existing contents of the original five elements: ReDim Preserve barArray (6)
Upper and lower bounds for an array can be determined at run time by using the functions UBound() and LBound(). Multidimensional arrays can be declared by separating the dimension indexes with commas, as in the following VBA example: Dim barArray (4, 3)
Using functions and subroutines VBA uses both functions and subroutines (or “subs”). Functions can be used to return a value, but subs cannot. In VBA, functions and subs do not need to be declared before they are used, nor before they are defined. In fact, functions and subs need to be declared only if they actually exist in external system DLLs. Typical functions in a language such as Java or C++ can be structured as follows: void foo( string stringItem ) { // The body of the function goes here
} double bar( int numItem ) { return 23.2; }
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 18 In VBA, however, functions are structured as in the following example: Public Sub foo (stringItem As String) ' The body of the subroutine goes here End Sub Public Function bar (numItem As Integer) As Double bar = 23.2
End Function
To force a function or sub to exit immediately, you can use Exit Function or Exit Sub (respectively).
Ending lines In VBA, each statement must exist on its own line, but no special character is required to denote the end of each line. (In contrast, many other programming languages use a semicolon to separate individual statements.) To break a long VBA statement over two or more lines, each of the lines (other than the last line) must end with an underscore ( _ ) preceded by at least one space: newString = fooFunction ("This is a string", _ 5, 10, 2) You can combine several statements in a single VBA line by separating them with colons: a = 1 : b = 2 : c = a + b
A VBA line cannot end with a colon. VBA lines that end with a colon are labels that are used by the Goto statement.
Including comments Comments in VBA — similarly to in ANSI, C++, and Java — can be created only at the end of a line. Comments begin with an apostrophe ( ' ) and terminate at the end of the line. Each line of a multi-line comment must begin with its own apostrophe in VBA: a = b ' This is a really interesting piece of code that ' requires so much explanation that I needed to break ' the comment over multiple lines. To comment out large sections of VBA code, use the following syntax (similarly to in C or C++): #If 0 Then ' That's a zero, not the letter 'oh'. ' All this code will be ignored by ' the compiler at run time! #End If
Allocating memory VBA does not support C-style memory pointers. Memory allocation and garbage collection are automatic and transparent, just as in Java and JavaScript (and some C++ code).
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 19 Passing arguments Most languages, including C++ and Java, pass an argument to a procedure as a copy of the original. If the original must be passed, then one of two things can happen: • a memory pointer is passed that directs the procedure to the original argument in memory • a reference to the original argument is passed Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) has the same requirements for passing arguments. In VB, passing a copy of the original argument is called “passing by value” and passing a reference to the original is called “passing by reference.” By default, function and subroutine parameters are passed by reference. A reference to the original variable is passed in the argument of the procedure; changing the value of that argument, in effect, changes the value of the original variable value as well. In this way, more than one value can be returned from a function or subroutine. To explicitly annotate the code to indicate that an argument is being passed by reference, you can prefix the argument with ByRef. If you want to prevent a procedure from changing the value of the original variable, you can force the copying of an argument. To do this in VBA, prefix the argument with ByVal, as shown in the example that follows. The functionality of ByRef and ByVal is similar to the ability of C and C++ to pass a copy of a variable, or to pass a pointer to the original variable. Private Sub fooFunc (ByVal int1 As Integer, _ ByRef long1 As Long, _ long2 As Long) ' Passed ByRef by default
In the preceding VBA example, arguments long1 and long2 are both, by default, passed by reference. Modifying either argument within the body of the function modifies the original variable; however, modifying int1 does not modify the original because it is a copy of the original.
Defining scope You can define the scope of a data type or procedure (or even an object). Data types, functions, and subroutines (and members of classes) that are declared as private are visible only within that module (or file). By contrast, functions that are declared as public are visible throughout all the modules; however, you may need to use fully qualified referencing if the modules are almost out of scope — for example, if you are referencing a function in a different project.
Unlike C, VBA does not use braces — that is, the { and } symbols — to define local scope. Local scope in VBA is defined by an opening function or subroutine definition statement (that is, Function or Sub) and a matching End statement (that is, End Function or End Sub). Any variables declared within the function are available only within the scope of the function itself.
Using Boolean comparison and assignment In Microsoft Visual Basic (VB), Boolean comparison and Boolean assignment are both performed by using a single equals sign ( = ): If a = b Then c = d
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 20 By contrast, many other languages use a double equals sign for Boolean comparison and a single equals sign for Boolean assignment: if( a == b ) c = d; The following code, which is valid in C, C++, Java, and JavaScript, is invalid in VBA: if( ( result = fooBar( ) ) == true ) The preceding example would be written in VBA as the following: result = fooBar( ) If result = True Then For other Boolean comparisons, VBA uses the same operators as other languages (except for the operators for “is equal to” and “is not equal to”). All the Boolean-comparison operators are provided in the following table.
Comparison VBA operator C-style operator
Is equal to ===
Is not equal to <> !=
Is greater than >>
Is less than <<
Is greater than or equal to >= >=
Is less than or equal to <= <=
The result of using a Boolean operator is always either True or False.
Using logical and bitwise operators
In VBA, logical operations are performed by using the keywords And, Not, Or, Xor, Imp, and Eqv, which perform the logical operations AND, NOT, OR, Exclusive-OR, logical implication, and logical equivalence (respectively). These operators also perform Boolean comparisons. The following code shows a comparison written in C or a similar language: if( ( a && b ) || ( c && d ) ) This example would be written as follows in VBA: If ( a And b ) Or ( c And d ) Then Alternatively, the preceding VBA code could be written in the following full long-hand form: If ( a And b = True ) Or ( c And d = True ) = True Then The following table provides a comparison of the four common VBA logical and bitwise operators, and the C- style logical and bitwise operators that are used by C, C++, Java, and JavaScript.
VBA operator C-style bitwise operator C-style Boolean operator
And & &&
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 21 VBA operator C-style bitwise operator C-style Boolean operator
Not ~ !
Or | ||
Xor ^
Providing message boxes and input boxes
In VBA, you can present simple messages to the user by using the MsgBox function: Dim retval As Long retval = MsgBox("Click OK if you agree.", _ vbOKCancel, "Easy Message") If retval = vbOK Then MsgBox "You clicked OK.", vbOK, "Affirmative" End If
You can also get strings from the user by using InputBox function:
Dim inText As String inText = InputBox("Input some text:", "type here") If Len(inText) > 0 Then MsgBox "You typed the following: " & inText & "." End If
If the user clicks Cancel, the length of the string returned in inText is zero. For information on creating more complex user interfaces, see “Making macros user-friendly” on page 57.
Referencing objects
If you want to create a reference to an object so that you can treat that reference like a variable (sh, in the following VBA example for CorelDRAW), you can use the Set keyword. Dim sh As Shape Set sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1) After you create this reference, you can treat it as though it were the object itself. sh.Outline.Color.GrayAssign 35
If the selection is changed while sh is still in scope, sh references the original shape from the old selection and is unaffected by the new selection. You cannot simply assign the object to the variable as in the following example: Dim sh As Shape sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1)
To release an object, you must set its reference value to Nothing.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 22 Set sh = Nothing
You can also test whether a variable references a valid object by using the Nothing keyword. If sh Is Nothing Then MsgBox "sh is de-referenced." Objects do not need to be explicitly released. In most cases, VB releases the object upon disposal of the variable when you exit the function or subroutine.
Referencing collections Many objects are members of collections. A collection is similar to an array, except that it contains objects rather than values. However, members of collections can be accessed in the same way as arrays. For example, a collection that is used frequently in CorelDRAW is the collection of shapes on a layer: The object ActiveLayer references either the current layer or the layer that is selected in the Object Manager docker. CorelDRAW contains many collections: A document contains pages, a page contains layers, a layer contains shapes, a curve contains subpaths, a subpath contains segments and nodes, a text range contains lines and words, a group contains shapes, and the application contains windows. All these collections are handled by VBA in the same way.
Referencing collection items
To reference the shapes on a layer, the collection of shapes for that layer is used: ActiveLayer.Shapes. To reference the individual shapes in the collection, the Item() property is used. Here is a VBA example for CorelDRAW: Dim sh As Shape Set sh = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(1)
Most elements of a collection start at 1 and increase. For the collection ActiveLayer.Shapes, Item(1) is the item at the “top” or “front” of the layer — in other words, it is the item that is in front of all other shapes. Furthermore, because each item in the ActiveLayer collection is an object of type Shape, you can reference any item in VBA merely by appending the appropriate dot-notated member: ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(1).Outline.ConvertToObject Sometimes, individual items have names. If the item you are looking for has an associated name (and you know what the name is and which collection the item is in), you can use that name to reference the item directly, as in the following VBA example for CorelDRAW: Dim sh1 As Shape, sh2 As Shape Set sh1 = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(0, 5, 7, 0) sh1.Name = "myShape" Set sh2 = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item("myShape") Also, because an item is usually the implied or default member of a collection, it is not strictly required. For this reason, the last line of the preceding VBA code can be rewritten as follows: Set sh2 = ActiveLayer.Shapes("myShape")
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 23 Counting collection items
All collections have a property called Count. This read-only property gives the number of members in the collection, as in the following VBA example for CorelDRAW: Dim count As Long count = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Count
The returned value is not only the number of items in the collection: Because the collection starts from 1, it is also the index of the last item.
Parsing collection items It is often necessary to parse through the members of a collection to check or change the properties of each item.
By using the Item() and Count members, it is straightforward to step through a collection of items. With each iteration, it is possible to test the properties of the current item, or to call its methods. The following VBA code for CorelDRAW restricts all shapes on the layer to no wider than ten units: Dim I As Long, count As Long count = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Count For I = 1 to count If ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(i).SizeWidth > 10 Then ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(i).SizeWidth = 10 End If Next I
There is, however, a more convenient way of parsing a collection in VBA. Instead of using the Count property and a For-Next loop, this technique uses a For-Each-In loop: Dim sh As Shape For Each sh In ActiveLayer.Shapes If sh.SizeWidth > 10 Then sh.SizeWidth = 10 End If Next sh If you want to copy the selection and then parse it later when it is no longer selected, copy the selection into a ShapeRange object: Dim sr As ShapeRange Dim sh As Shape Set sr = ActiveSelectionRange For Each sh In sr
' Do something with each shape Next sh
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 24 Using object shortcuts Shortcuts are provided for some frequently accessed objects. Using shortcuts requires less typing, so shortcuts are easier to use than their longhand versions. (Also, using shortcuts can improve run-time performance because the compiler does not need to determine every object in a long dot-separated reference.)
For CorelDRAW, a shortcut can be used on its own as a property of the Application object. The following table provides these shortcuts and their long forms. (For a description of any item, see the “Object Model Reference” section of the Macros Help file for or CorelDRAW [draw_om.chm].)
Shortcut Long form
ActiveLayer ActivePage.ActiveLayer
ActivePage ActiveDocument.ActivePage
ActiveSelection ActiveDocument.Selection
ActiveSelectionRange ActiveDocument.SelectionRange
ActiveShape ActiveDocument.Selection.Shapes(1)
ActiveView ActiveWindow.ActiveView
ActiveWindow ActiveDocument.ActiveWindow
For Corel PHOTO-PAINT, a shortcut can be used on its own as a property of the Corel PHOTO-PAINT Application object. The following table provides these shortcuts and their long forms. (For a description of any item, see the “Object Model Reference” section of the Corel PHOTO-PAINT Macros Help file [pp_om.chm].)
Shortcut Long form
ActiveLayer ActivePage.ActiveLayer
ActiveWindow ActiveDocument.ActiveWindow
For CorelDRAW, the following shortcuts can also be used as members of a given Document object: • ActiveLayer • ActivePage • ActiveShape • ActiveWindow
For Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the following shortcuts can also be used as members of a given Document object: • ActiveLayer • ActiveWindow
For CorelDRAW, the Document object also has the properties Selection and SelectionRange, which let you get the selection or selection range (respectively) from a specified document regardless of whether that document is active.
Providing event handlers While running, CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT raise various events to which macros can respond through the use of event handlers — subroutines with specific, defined names. Each macro project defines its
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 25 event handlers in one of the following code modules: • ThisMacroStorage — for macro projects that are stored in Global Macro Storage (GMS) files • ThisDocument — for macro projects that are stored in documents The GlobalMacroStorage object is a virtual object that represents each and all open documents. The GlobalMacroStorage object has several events that are raised at the time of any event, such as opening, printing, saving, or closing a document (although the range of events is actually greater than this because each one has a “before” and “after” event). To respond to an event, you must provide an event handler — a subroutine in any ThisMacroStorage module with a specific name for which the application is pre-programmed to search. However, the application does check all ThisMacroStorage modules in all installed projects; for this reason, you can create an event-driven solution and distribute it as a single project file just as you would provide any other solution. Each project can have only one ThisMacroStorage module, and it is automatically created when the project is first created. In VBA, you can add event handlers to a ThisMacroStorage module by using the Macro Editor. For example, a CorelDRAW macro solution may need to respond to the closing of a document by logging the closure in a file as part of a workflow-management system. To respond to the opening of a document, the solution must respond to the OpenDocument event for the GlobalMacroStorage class. To create this event handler in VBA, do the following: •Open a ThisMacroStorage module for editing in the Macro Editor. • Next, choose GlobalMacroStorage from the Object list box at the top of the Code window, and then choose DocumentOpen from the Procedure list box.
The Macro Editor creates a new, empty subroutine called GlobalMacroStorage_DocumentOpen()— or, if that subroutine already exists, the Macro Editor places the cursor into it. To then add the name of the opened file to the log, you need only write some code. To reduce the size of the ThisMacroStorage module, you can assign this event-logging task to a public subroutine in another module. This technique lets the run-time interpreter more easily parse all the ThisMacroStorage modules each time an event is raised. The following VBA code illustrates this example for CorelDRAW: Private Sub GlobalMacroStorage_OpenDocument(ByVal Doc As Document, _ ByVal FileName As String) Call LogFileOpen(FileName) End Sub Here is a small sample of the events available in CorelDRAW:
Event Description
Start Raised when the user starts the application
DocumentNew Raised when a document is created; passes a reference to the document
DocumentOpen Raised when a document is opened; passes a reference to the document
DocumentBeforeSave Raised before a document is saved; passes the file name of the document as a parameter
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 26 Event Description
DocumentAfterSave Raised after a document is saved; passes the file name of the document as a parameter
DocumentBeforePrint Raised before the Print dialog box is displayed
DocumentAfterPrint Raised after a document is printed
SelectionChange Raised when a selection changes
DocumentClose Raised before a document is closed
Quit Raised when the user quits the application Event handlers for frequent events — such as events related to the Shape class — should be as efficient as possible, to keep the application running as quickly as possible.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding automation 27 Getting started with macros
Now that you understand a bit about automation, you’re ready to get started with macros. This section provides an overview of the macro-related tools and features of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “Setting up the automation feature” on page 28 • “Using the Macros toolbar” on page 29 • “Using the Macro Manager docker” on page 30 • “Using the Macro Editor” on page 31 • “Using the VSTA Editor” on page 43
Setting up the automation feature Before you can develop and run macros in the software, you may need to set up the automation features for VBA and VSTA. When you perform a “typical installation” of the software, the VBA and VSTA features are installed by default. However, you can manually install them if necessary. For example, if you want to edit VSTA projects, and you installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 after installing CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, you must reinstall the VBA and VSTA features manually. You can also specify various options for VBA. For details on setting up the automation feature, see the following procedures: • “To install the VBA and VSTA features” on page 28 • “To specify VBA options” on page 28
To install the VBA and VSTA features 1 On the Windows Control Panel, click Uninstall a program. 2 Double-click on the Uninstall or change a program page. 3 Enable the Modify option in the wizard that appears, and follow the instructions. 4 On the Features page (page 2) of the installation wizard, enable the Utilities check box, and then enable the following check boxes in the Includes list box: • Visual Basic for Applications • Visual Studio Tools for Applications
To specify VBA options 1 Click Tools Options. 2 In the Workspace list of categories, click VBA.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 28 3 In the Security area, specify how to control the risk of running malicious macros by clicking Security options. If you want to bypass this security feature, enable the Trust all installed GMS modules check box, and then proceed to step 6. 4 On the Security level page of the Security dialog box, enable one of the following options: • Very high — allows only macros installed in trusted locations to run. All other signed and unsigned macros are disabled. • High — allows only signed macros from trusted sources to run. Unsigned macros are automatically disabled. • Medium — lets you choose which macros run, even if they are potentially harmful. • Low (not recommended) — allows all potentially unsafe macros to run. Enable this setting if you have virus-scanning software installed, or if you check the safety of all documents that you open. 5 On the Trusted publishers page of the Security dialog box, review which macro publishers are trusted. Click View to display details on the selected macro publisher, or click Remove to delete the selected macro publisher from the list. If desired, you can enable or disable the Trust access to Visual Basic project check box for the selected macro publisher. 6 Disable the Delay load VBA check box if you want to load the VBA feature at start-up.
Using the Macros toolbar CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT feature a Macros toolbar that provides easy access to several macro- related featues, such as the Macro Editor.
The Macros toolbar in CorelDRAW
The Macros toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT
Using the Macros toolbar in CorelDRAW In CorelDRAW, the Macros toolbar features the following buttons: • Macro Manager button — opens the Macro Manager docker • Run Macro button — runs a macro • Macro Editor button — opens the Macro Editor • Disable application events button — switches the Macro Editor between its modes for designing and running macros
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 29 • Start Recording button — records a macro • Pause Recording button — pauses the recording of a macro • Stop Recording button — stops the recording of a macro To d i s p l a y t h e Macros toolbar in CorelDRAW, click Window To o l b a r s Macros. A check mark next to the command indicates that the toolbar is displayed.
Using the Macros toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the Macros toolbar features the following buttons: • Macro Manager button — opens the Macro Manager docker • Run Macro button — runs a macro • Macro Editor button — opens the Macro Editor • Disable application events button — switches the Macro Editor between its modes for designing and running macros To d i s p l a y t h e Macros toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, click Window To o l b ar s Macros. A check mark next to the command indicates that the toolbar is displayed.
Using the Macro Manager docker In CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, macros are stored in code modules, which are stored in macro projects. The Macro Manager docker provides a list of all existing VBA macro projects, plus the code modules and macros that are stored in them. You can use the Macro Manager docker to perform various tasks related to macro projects, code modules, and macros (see “Creating macros” on page 45).
The Macro Manager docker in CorelDRAW, with a macro selected
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 30 The Macro Manager docker in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, with a macro selected To d i s p l a y t h e Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: •Click Tools Macros Macro Manager. •Click the Macro Manager button on the Macros toolbar.
Using the Macro Editor CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT provide an integrated development environment (IDE) for creating VBA macro projects. Called the Macro Editor, this IDE is similar to the one included with the full version of Visual Basic. You can use the Macro Editor to perform various tasks related to VBA macros, such as the following: • browsing the contents of a VBA macro project • developing and debugging VBA macro code • setting object properties for VBA macros • creating dialog boxes or “forms” for VBA macros You cannot use the Macro Editor to compile executable (EXE) program files. The Macro Editor features three main areas: • Project Explorer — lets you browse macro projects and their contents. For more information, see “Using the Project Explorer” on page 32. • Code window — lets you work with macro code. For more information, see “Using the Code window” on page 33. • Properties window — lists all editable properties for the selected object. For more information, see “Using the Properties window” on page 37. The Macro Editor also features four main toolbars: • Standard toolbar — is the default toolbar • Debug toolbar — contains buttons for common debugging tasks • Edit toolbar — contains buttons for common code-editing tasks • UserForm toolbar — contains buttons specific to designing dialog boxes
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 31 For more information on these toolbars, see “Using the Macro Editor toolbars” on page 37.
4
5
1
2 6
3 7
The Macro Editor (CorelDRAW version shown) features the following: 1) Project Explorer; 2) Code window; 3) Properties window; 4) Standard toolbar; 5) Debug toolbar; 6) Edit toolbar; 7) UserForm toolbar The Macro Editor also lets you access the Object Browser, which displays the entire object model of each referenced component and of the host application. For more information, see “Using the Object Browser” on page 38. Although the Macro Editor opens in a separate window from its host application, it runs within the process of that application. To display the Macro Editor, do any of the following: •Click Tools Macros Macro Editor on the main menu in the application. •Click the Macro Editor button on the Macros toolbar. •Right-click Visual Basic for Applications in the Macro Manager docker, and then click Show IDE. • Press Alt + F11. To switch between the Macro Editor and the application, use the Windows taskbar, or press Alt + F11 or Alt + Tab. For more detailed information on constructing code procedures and setting properties, please see the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Help file, which is available from the Help menu in the Macro Editor.
Using the Project Explorer The Project Explorer is essential for navigating macro projects and their contents: documents and objects, forms, modules, and class modules (or “classes”).
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 32 Each type of component in the Project Explorer has an icon assigned to it:
Icon Item
macro project
folder
document or object (CorelDRAW)
document or object (Corel PHOTO-PAINT)
form
module
class module (or “class”)
To display or hide the Project Explorer, do any of the following: •Click View Project Explorer. •Click the Project Explorer button on the Standard toolbar. • Press Ctrl + R.
Using the Code window The Code window is where you spend most of your time when working on macros. A standard code editor in the style of Microsoft Visual Studio, the Code window lets you do the following: • format code automatically • color syntax automatically • check syntax automatically
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 33 • jump to definitions • use contextual pop-up lists and automatic completion If you are already familiar with any of the Microsoft Visual Studio editors, the Code window will be entirely familiar to you.
The Code window To d i s p l a y t h e Code window, do one of the following: •Click View Code. • Press F7.
Formatting code automatically The Macro Editor formats code automatically for you. Even the capitalization of keywords, functions, subroutines, and variables is taken care of by the Macro Editor, irrespective of what you type. You cannot custom-format code, although you can set the indentation for each line, as well as the placing of custom line breaks. If you use the returned value when calling a function, the parentheses around the parameters are mandatory (just as in most modern programming languages): a = fooFunc (b, c) However, if the returned value from a function call is being discarded, or if you are calling a subroutine, the parentheses must be left out (unlike in most other languages): barFunc d, e fooBarSub f
If you prefer always to see the parentheses, use the Call keyword before the function call or subroutine call: Call barFunc (d, e) Call fooBarSub (f)
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 34 Coloring syntax automatically As you develop code in the Code window, the Macro Editor colors each word according to its classification.
Word color Classification
Blue Automation keyword or programming statement
Green Comment
Black All other text
The Code window also uses the following colorization techniques:
Colorization technique Classification
Red text Line of code containing errors
White text on blue background Selected text
Text highlighted in yellow Line where execution is paused for debugging
White text on red background and red dot in the left Breakpoint set for debugging purposes margin For more information, see “Setting breakpoints” on page 55.
Blue dot in the left margin Bookmark set in the code
These syntax-colorization techniques make the code much easier to read.
Syntax coloring and highlighting Breakpoints and bookmarks are lost when you quit the application. The Macro Editor lets you modify the default colors for syntax highlighting. Click To o l s Options, and choose your settings on the Editor Format page.
Checking syntax automatically Every time you move the cursor out of a line of code, the Macro Editor checks the syntax of the code in that line; if an error is found, the line is colored red and a pop-up warning is displayed. This real-time checking is useful
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 35 (particularly when you are learning to program macros) because it indicates many possible errors in the code without having you run the code. The Macro Editor lets you disable pop-up warnings. Click To o l s Options, click the Editor tab, and then disable the Auto Syntax Check check box. Although the Macro Editor still checks the syntax and colors erroneous lines red, it stops displaying a warning when you paste text from another line of code.
Jumping to definitions The Macro Editor lets you jump directly to the definition of a variable, function, or object.
Desired definition Procedure Destination
Variable Right-click the variable in the Code The definition of the variable in the window, and then click Definition. code
Function Right-click the function in the Code The definition of the function in the window, and then click Definition. code
Object Right-click the object in the Code The definition of the object in the window, and then click Definition. Object Browser
To return to where you requested the definition, right-click anywhere in the Code window, and then click Last Position.
Using contextual pop-up lists for automatic completion The Macro Editor adds the functions you write and the variables you define to an internal list that contains all built-in keywords and enumerated values. As you type, the Macro Editor displays a contextual list of words that are valid candidates for insertion at the current position. This auto-completion feature makes code development quicker and more convenient.
An auto-completion pop-up list If you type the first few characters of the word you want to use, the pop-up list advances to the nearest candidate that matches those characters. Select the desired word, and then do one of the following: • type the character to follow the word (typically a space, line feed, parenthesis, period, or comma) • enter only the word by pressing Ta b or Ctrl + Enter
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 36 To force the pop-up menu display, press Ctrl + Spacebar; the menu scrolls to the word that most closely matches the characters that you have typed so far. This technique is particularly useful for filling parameter lists when calling a function or subroutine. If there is only one exact match, the Macro Editor inserts the word without popping up the list; to display the pop-up list for the selected keyword at any time without auto-filling it, press Ctrl + J.
Using the Properties window The Properties window lists all editable properties for the selected object. Many macro objects — including projects, modules, and forms and their controls — have property sheets that can be modified.
The Properties window, with the properties of a form displayed The Properties window is automatically updated when you select an object, or when you change the properties of the selected object by using other methods (for example, by using the mouse to move and resize form controls). To display or hide the Properties window, do any of the following: •Click View Properties Window. •Click the Properties Window button on the Standard toolbar. • Press F4.
Using the Macro Editor toolbars The Macro Editor features four toolbars — Standard, Debug, Edit, and UserForm — that you can use to perform macro-related tasks. The Standard toolbar is the default toolbar.
The Standard toolbar (CorelDRAW version shown) The Debug toolbar contains buttons for common debugging tasks (see “Debugging macros” on page 53).
The Debug toolbar The Edit toolbar contains buttons for common code-editing tasks.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 37 The Edit toolbar The UserForm toolbar contains buttons specific to designing dialog boxes (see “Designing dialog boxes” on page 61).
The UserForm toolbar To display or hide a toolbar, click View To o l b a r s , and then click the corresponding command. A check mark next to a command indicates that its toolbar is currently displayed. You can “float” a toolbar by dragging it from the menu bar. You can dock a toolbar by dragging it to the menu bar.
Using the Object Browser The Object Browser is one of the most useful tools that is provided by the Macro Editor. In an easy-to-use, structured format, the Object Browser displays the entire object model of each referenced component and, most importantly, of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Referenced components include all ActiveX or Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) objects that are used by the project. The Object Browser window features the following items: • Project/Library list box — lists all referenced components (projects and libraries). Choosing a project or library from this list updates the Object Browser to display only the items for that project or library. Generally, displaying only one project or library at a time makes it easier to use the Object Browser. • navigation buttons — let you cycle through your selections from the Object Browser • Copy to Clipboard button — copies the current selection to the Clipboard • View Definition button — displays where the current selection is defined in the Code window • Help button — displays a Help topic for the current selection. You can also access this Help topic by pressing F1. • search controls — let you search the selected project or library for a given string. For more information, see “Using the search controls” on page 42. • Search Results window — displays the results of a search. For more information, see “Using the search controls” on page 42. • Class list — displays all class-related items for the selected project or library. For more information, see “Using the Class list” on page 39. • Member list — displays the members of the selected class. For more information, see “Using the Member list” on page 40. • Information window — displays information about the selected class or class member. For more information, see “Using the Information window” on page 42.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 38 Project/ navigation Library buttons list box Help search button controls Search View Results Definition window button
Copy to Class list Clipboard button Member list
Information window The Object Browser window (Corel PHOTO-PAINT version shown) To open the Object Browser from within the Macro Editor, do any of the following: •Click View Object Browser. •Click the Object Browser button on the Standard toolbar. • Press F2. To reference the object model of another application, click To o l s References. Referenced components can be accessed by the macro code.
Using the Class list Every project and library has an object model that contains the following class-related items, which are displayed in the Class list: • global values •classes •modules •types •enumerations Global values apply to an entire project or library, and they include individual members from enumerations (such as text-paragraph alignments, shape types, and import/export filters). Classes contain properties, methods, and events. For more information, see “What is a class?” on page 14. For documentation on all classes available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Classes” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Modules contain macro code. For documentation on all modules available to CorelDRAW, see the “Object Model Reference | Modules” section of the Macros Help file for the application.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 39 Types are customized data types that supplement the built-in data types that are provided by the automation environment (see “Declaring variables” on page 17). For documentation on all types available to CorelDRAW, see the “Object Model Reference | Types” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Enumerations represent fixed values in the procedures and functions of the coding for a macro. For more information, see “What is an enumeration?” on page 16. For documentation on all enumerations available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Enumerations” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Each type of item in the Class list has an icon assigned to it:
Icon Item
global value
class
module
type
enumeration
To access the Help topic for a selected item, click the Help button, or press F1.
Using the Member list When you choose an item from the Class list, the members of that item appear in the Member list. Class members include the following: •properties •methods •events •constants A property can be a simple type (such as a Boolean, integer, or string), or it can be a class or enumeration from the Class list. A property that is based on a class from the Class list inherits all members of that class. Many classes have a default property. The default property is implied if no property name is given when getting or setting the value of the parent object. For example, collection types have the default property Item, which can be indexed; in such instances, it is not necessary to specify the Item property. Here, ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1).Selected = False is the same as the shorter ActiveSelection.Shapes(1).Selected = False
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 40 because Item is the default or implied property of a collection of shapes. For documentation on all properties available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Properties” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Methods are commonly known as “member functions” — functions that a class can perform on itself. A good example is the Move method of the Shape class in CorelDRAW, which moves a shape by using an [x, y] vector. The following code moves the selected shapes 2 measurement units to the right and 3 measurement units upwards: ActiveSelection.Move 2, 3 If the return value of a function is not used, the function call does not take parentheses around the argument list unless the Call keyword is used. For documentation on all methods available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Methods” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Events are associated with some classes. You can set up an event handler that is called when that event occurs in the application; this functionality lets you develop sophisticated applications that respond automatically to what is happening within the application. Commonly handled events include the BeforePrint, BeforeSave, PageActivate, SelectionChange, and ShapeMove events of the Document class in CorelDRAW. For documentation on all events available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Events” section of the Macros Help file for the application. The constants displayed in the Member list are members of enumerations or are defined as public in a module. Enumerations group related items from a closed list — such as CorelDRAW shape types, import/export filters, and alignments — for use anywhere an integer value is required. In CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, many constants begin with cdr (for example, cdrEPS and cdrLeftAlignment), while others begin with clr, cui, pdf, pnt, or prn. Visual Basic also has its own constants, including ones (such as vbKeyEnter) for keystrokes and ones (such as vbOK) for dialog-box buttons. For documentation on all constants available to CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, see the “Object Model Reference | Constants” section of the Macros Help file for the application. Each type of item in the Member list has an icon assigned to it:
Icon Item
property
default property
method
event
constant
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 41 To access the Help topic for a selected item, click the Help button, or press F1.
Using the Information window The Information window provides information about the selected class or class member. This information includes the following: • a prototype of the item • an indication of whether the item is a read-only property • the parent of the item • a short description of the item
The Information window for the Document.Application property in Corel PHOTO-PAINT The Information window provides hyperlinks to all referenced types and classes that are defined within the current object model. For example, the information for the Document.Application property in Corel PHOTO- PAINT (see the preceding figure) includes the following hyperlinks: • Application — accesses the Application class, because Application is both the type of the Document.Application property and a class in the PHOTOPAINT library • PHOTOPAINT — accesses the class for the PHOTOPAINT library, which contains all classes in the Corel PHOTO-PAINT object model • Document — accesses the Document class, which is the parent of the Application property When the Information window is not tall enough to reveal its complete contents, a scroll bar is provided. To increase the height of the Information window, drag the top border of the window upwards.
Using the search controls The search controls let you search the selected project or library for a given string. Searching is useful when you can only partly remember the name of a class or class member, or when you want to find classes and members that have similar names (such as those containing the word “open”).
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 42 Searching the CorelDRAW object model To search the classes and members of the selected object model, type a string into the Search box, and then click the Search button . The Search Results window displays, in alphabetical order, all matches. Clicking a match advances the Class list and Member list to that item and displays the Information window for that item. Matching class names have a blank Member column in the Search Results window. To hide the Search Results window, click the Hide Search Results button .
Using the VSTA Editor CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT provide an integrated development environment (IDE) for creating VSTA macro projects. Called the VSTA Editor, this IDE is similar to the Macro Editor (which is the IDE for VBA macro projects in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT). You can use the VSTA Editor to perform various tasks related to VSTA macros. To use the VSTA Editor, you must have Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 installed. You can open the VSTA Editor from within CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. To open the VSTA Editor, do any of the following: •Click Tools Macros VSTA Editor on the main menu in the application. • Press Alt + Shift + F12. To switch between the VSTA Editor and the application, use the Windows taskbar, or press Alt + Shift F12 or Alt + Tab.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 43 For more detailed information on VSTA and its programming environment, please consult the Help menu in the VSTA Editor.
Macro Programming Guide Getting started with macros 44 Creating macros
Now that you are familiar with the concept of automation and with the macro-related tools and features of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you are ready to create macros.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “Creating macro projects” on page 45 • “Writing macros” on page 48 • “Recording macros” on page 49 • “Running macros” on page 52 • “Debugging macros” on page 53
Creating macro projects The process of creating a macro begins with creating a macro project. A macro project can be created in one of two ways: • as a Global Macro Storage (GMS), or “project,” file • in a document
Using GMS files For best results in storing and distributing a macro project, it is highly recommended that you use a GMS file. GMS files are stored in the GMS folder for the application, the location of which depends on the type of macro project.
Macro-project type GMS folder
Default projects installed with X:\Program Files\Corel\
User-created projects on X:\Users\
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 45 Understanding macro projects The Macro Manager docker provides basic tools for working with macro projects. For access to more advanced tools, you can use the Macro Editor (for VBA macro projects) or the VSTA Editor (for VSTA macro projects). In the Macro Editor, a VBA macro project is broken into four types of components, which are displayed as the following folders in the Project Explorer (see “Using the Project Explorer” on page 32): •
Related procedures For details on creating macro projects, see the following procedures: • “To create a macro project” on page 46 • “To add a dialog box to a macro project” on page 47 • “To add a code module to a macro project” on page 47 • “To add a class module to a macro project” on page 48
To create a macro project • In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: •Click Visual Studio Tools for Applications in the list, click New, and then click New macro project. •Click Visual Basic for Applications in the list, click New, and then click New macro project. Project names must follow normal variable-naming conventions: They must begin with an alphabetic character, and they must not contain spaces nor special characters other than underscores ( _ ).
You can also
Load a macro project Do one of the following: •Click Visual Studio Tools for Applications in the list, click Load, and then choose the project. •Click Visual Basic for Applications in the list, click Load, and then choose the project.
Rename a macro project Right-click the project in the list, and then click Rename. You can also rename a macro project from within the Macro Editor. Click the project in the Project Explorer, and then edit the (Name) value in the Properties window. Press Enter to commit your changes.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 46 You can also
Copy a GMS-based macro project Right-click the project in the list, click Copy to, and then choose the target location for the copy. NOTE: You cannot copy a document-based macro project. Such projects are stored within a document and cannot be managed separately from that document.
Unload a GMS-based macro project Right-click the macro project in the list, and then click Unload macro project. NOTE: You can close a document-based macro project only by closing the document in which it is stored. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified.
To add a dialog box to a macro project 1 In the Project Explorer of the Macro Editor, right-click the project. 2 Click Insert UserForm. A form is added to the Forms folder for the project. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified. For more information, see “Providing dialog boxes for macros” on page 59.
To add a code module to a macro project • Do one of the following: •In the Macro Manager docker, click the project in the list, click New, and then click New module. •In the Macro Manager docker, right-click the project in the list, and then click New module. • In the Project Explorer of the Macro Editor, right-click the project, and then click Insert Module.
You can also
Display or hide all code modules in the Macro Manager In the Macro Manager docker, click the Simple mode docker button .
Edit a code module In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: • Click the module in the list, and then click the Edit button . • Right-click the module in the list, and then click Edit. The code module opens in the Macro Editor.
Rename a code module In the Macro Manager docker, right-click the module in the list, and then click Rename.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 47 You can also
Delete a code module In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: • Click the module in the list, and then click the Delete button . • Right-click the module in the list, and then click Delete. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified.
To add a class module to a macro project 1 In the Project Explorer of the Macro Editor, right-click the project. 2 Click Insert Class Module. A new class module is added to the Class Modules folder for the project. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified. Detailed documentation on creating class modules is beyond the scope of this documentation.
Writing macros You can manually code a macro by writing it in the Macro Editor or the VSTA Editor. (Alternatively, in CorelDRAW, you can create a VBA macro by recording it. For information, see “Recording macros” on page 49.) Macros that are developed in the Macro Editor or the VSTA Editor can take advantage of full programming control, including conditional execution, looping, and branching. In effect, you can write macros that are programs in their own right. In this documentation, all macro code is referred to as a macro. In some contexts, however, a macro is just those parts of the code that can be run by CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. To write a macro, you must first add it to a code module for the desired macro project. You can edit, rename, or even delete macros. For details on writing macros, see the following procedures: • “To add a macro to a macro project” on page 48 • “To edit a VBA macro” on page 49 • “To delete a VBA macro” on page 49
To add a macro to a macro project • In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: • Click the desired container module in the macro project, click New, and then click New macro. • Right-click the desired container module in the macro project, and then click New macro. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 48 To edit a VBA macro • In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: • Click the macro in the list, and then click the Edit button . • Right-click the macro in the list, and then click Edit. The macro opens in the Macro Editor. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified. For detailed information on manually coding macros, see “How is automation coding structured?” on page 16.
To delete a VBA macro • In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: • Click the macro in the list, and then click the Delete button . • Right-click the macro in the list, and then click Delete. Some macro projects are locked and cannot be modified.
Recording macros CorelDRAW offers a recording feature that lets you create a macro without needing to manually code it. For many simple and repetitive tasks, recorded macros are a quick, efficient solution: They store the sequence of keys that you press and the mouse actions that you perform within the application. You may prefer to create macros by recording them if you are not familiar with the object model for the application, or if you are not sure which objects and methods to use. In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, actions can be recorded as Corel SCRIPT scripts but not as VBA or VSTA macros. For information on recording scripts, see “Working with scripts” in the main Help file for Corel PHOTO-PAINT (corelpp.chm). If you want to store a recorded macro for future use, you can save it by using the Record Macro dialog box. Saving a recorded macro is particularly useful if you want to extend or customize its functionality by editing it in the Macro Editor.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 49 The Record Macro dialog box However, if you want to use a recorded macro during the current session only, you can record a temporary macro. For details on recording macros, see the following procedures: • “To record and save a macro” on page 50 • “To record a temporary macro” on page 51
To record and save a macro 1 Do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Start recording, or click the Start recording button on the Macros toolbar, to store the macro in the default macro project for recordings. • In the Macro Manager docker, click the project in which to store the macro, and then click the Record button . The Record Macro dialog box appears. 2 In the Macro name box, type a name for the macro. Macro names can contain numerals, but they must begin with a letter. Macro names cannot contain spaces or non-alphanumeric characters other than underscores ( _ ). 3 Type a description of the macro in the Description box, and then click OK. 4 Perform the actions that you want to record. The application begins recording your actions. If you want to pause recording, do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Pause recording. Repeat this step to resume recording. •Click the Pause recording button on the Macros toolbar or in the Macro Manager docker. Repeat this step to resume recording. 5 To stop recording, do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Stop recording.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 50 •Click the Stop recording button on the Macros toolbar or in the Macro Manager docker. • Press Ctrl+Shift+O. You cannot record a macro if all available macro projects are locked.. Not all actions can be recorded — some because of their complexity (although many such actions can be manually coded in the Macro Editor). When an action cannot be recorded, a comment is placed in the macro code (“The recording of this command is not supported.”), but the recording process continues until you stop it. You can view any comments in the code by opening the macro in the Macro Editor. You can specify the default macro project for recordings by right-clicking the project in the Macro Manager docker, and then clicking Set as recording project. However, you cannot specify a locked macro project. You can cancel recording a macro, and discard any commands recorded thus far, by clicking To o l s Macros Cancel recording.
You can also
Save the actions in the Undo list as a VBA macro Click Tools Undo, perform the actions that you want to record, and then click the Save list to a VBA macro button in the Undo docker.
To record a temporary macro 1 Do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Record temporary macro. • Press Ctrl+Shift+R. 2 Perform the actions that you want to record. The application begins recording your actions. If you want to pause recording, do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Pause recording. Repeat this step to resume recording. •Click the Pause recording button on the Macros toolbar or in the Macro Manager docker. Repeat this step to resume recording. 3 To stop recording, do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Stop recording. •Click the Stop recording button on the Macros toolbar or in the Macro Manager docker. • Press Ctrl+Shift+O. The macro is temporarily saved to the default recording project. When the current session is ended, the macro is deleted from that project. You cannot record a temporary macro if all available macro projects are locked. Not all actions can be recorded. You can specify the default recording project by right-clicking the project in the Macro Manager docker, and then clicking Set as recording project. (You cannot specify a locked macro project.) If you want, you can create multiple temporary recordings by assigning each one to its own macro project.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 51 You can cancel recording a macro, and discard any commands recorded thus far, by clicking To o l s Macros Cancel recording.
Running macros You can run saved macros in one of two ways: • from directly within CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT • from within the Macro Editor
The Run Macro dialog box You can also run any temporary macro recorded in CorelDRAW. For details on running macros, see the following procedures: • “To run a saved macro” on page 52 • “To run a temporary macro” on page 52
To run a saved macro • Do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Run macro, or click the Run macro button on the Macros toolbar. From the Macros in list box, choose the project or file in which the macro is stored. From the Macro name list, choose the macro. Click Run. •In the Macro Manager docker, double-click the macro in the list. •In the Macro Manager docker, click the macro in the list, and then click the Run button . •In the Macro Manager docker, right-click the macro in the list, and then click Run. • In the Macro Editor, click anywhere in the subroutine that forms the macro, and then click Run Run macro.
To run a temporary macro • Do one of the following: •Click To o l s Macros Run temporary macro. • Press Ctrl+Shift+P.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 52 This option is enabled only after you record a temporary macro. If you have created multiple temporary macros, you must specify which macro project contains the one that you want to run. Right-click the project in the Macro Manager docker, and then click Set as recording project.
Debugging macros To ensure that your macros run as expected, it’s important to debug them. The Macro Editor provides four windows for debugging VBA code. The Macro Editor also provides two strong debugging facilities that are common to language editors: setting breakpoints, and stepping through code. The Macro Editor also supports two advanced debugging techniques that are not discussed in this documentation: Making changes to the code while it is running, and watching and changing variables.
Using the debugging windows The Macro Editor provides four windows for debugging VBA code: the Call Stack window, the Immediate window, the Locals window, and the Watches window. All of these windows provide important information about the state of functions and variables while an application is running. The Call Stack window is a modal dialog box that lists which function calls which function. In long, complicated applications, this information is useful for tracing the steps to a particular function being called. To visit a function listed in the window, select the function name and then click Show, or else close the window. To display the Call Stack window, click View Call Stack.
The Call Stack window The Immediate window lets you type in and run arbitrary lines of code while a macro is paused. This functionality is useful for getting or setting the property of an object in the document, or for setting the value of a variable in the code. To run a piece of code, type it in the Immediate window, and then press Enter; the code is executed immediately. To display the Immediate window, click View Immediate window.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 53 The Immediate window The Locals window displays all variables and objects that exist within the current scope. The type and value for each variable are listed in the columns next to the name of the variable. Some variables and objects have several children, which can be displayed by clicking the button next to the parent. Many variables let you edit their value by clicking it. To display the Locals window, click View Locals window.
The Locals window The Watches window is used to watch specific variables or object properties. This functionality is useful for watching just one or two values rather than searching for them among all the values in the Locals window. To display the Watches window, click View Watch window.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 54 The Watches window To add a value to the Watches window, do one of the following: • Select the variable or object and its property, and then drag the selection onto the Watches window. • Click the item, and then click Debug Quick watch. The Add Watch dialog appears.
The Add Watch dialog box Select the item that you want to watch, select any conditions for this watch, and then click OK. If the condition becomes true, the application pauses to let you examine the code.
Setting breakpoints A breakpoint is a marker in a line of code that causes execution to pause. To continue, you must either restart the execution or step through the subsequent lines of code. To set or clear a breakpoint, click the line, and then click Debug To g g l e b r e ak p o i n t . By default, the line is highlighted in dark red, and a red dot is placed in the margin. To restart the code after it pauses at a breakpoint, click Run Continue. To pause the execution of the code (immediately exiting from all functions and discarding all return values), click Run Reset. You can also “run to cursor” — that is, execute the code until it reaches the line that the cursor is on, and then pause at that line. To do this, click the line where you want execution to pause, and then click Debug Run to cursor.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 55 To clear all breakpoints, click Debug Clear all breakpoints. If the line with the breakpoint (or the cursor, when “running to cursor”) is not executed because it is in a conditional (if-then-else) block, the code does not stop at that line. Breakpoints are not saved. They are lost when you close the Macro Editor.
Stepping through the code When execution pauses at a breakpoint, you can continue through the code one line at a time. This functionality, called “stepping through the code,” lets you do the following: • examine the values of individual variables after each line • determine how the code affects the values • determine how the values affect the code To step through the code, click Debug Step into. The execution advances to every line in all called functions and subroutines. To step through each line of the current function or subroutine but not through the lines of each called function or subroutine, click Debug Step over. The called functions and subroutines are executed, but not line-by-line. To execute the rest of the current function or subroutine but pause when the function or subroutine returns to the point where it was called, click Debug Step out. This technique is a quick way of returning to the point of entry of a function, to continue stepping through the code of the calling function.
Macro Programming Guide Creating macros 56 Making macros user-friendly
An important part of many macro solutions is the user interface. A well-designed interface improves the ease-of- use, power, and acceptance of a macro solution. Simple user interfaces can be created with toolbars, while more complex interfaces can be created with dialog boxes or dockers — and can even allow the user to interact with the mouse. However, for some macro solutions, a user interface alone is not enough. To make a macro solution as user- friendly as possible, you can provide documentation for it.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “Providing toolbars for macros” on page 57 • “Providing dialog boxes for macros” on page 59 • “Providing user interaction for macros” on page 66 • “Providing documentation for macros” on page 69
Providing toolbars for macros A toolbar provides a basic interface that enhances the user’s experience with your macro solution. Toolbars are useful because their buttons are memorable even if small, and because those buttons can be set to display meaningful captions and helpful tooltips.
Designing toolbars for macros When creating toolbars, you should plan carefully. Having multiple small toolbars containing a few related buttons is better than having one big toolbar containing all of the buttons for all of your macros. By breaking your buttons into small groups, it is much easier to deploy them with the projects to which they belong. For more information, see the following procedures: • “To create a macro toolbar” on page 58 • “To add buttons to a macro toolbar” on page 58
Associating images or icons with macros Macro commands can have an image or icon associated with them. This image or icon can be displayed or hidden on toolbars and menus, and it can be sized as small (16 × 16 pixels), medium (32 × 32 pixels), or large (48 × 48 pixels). For more information, see the following procedure: • “To associate an image or icon with a macro” on page 58
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 57 Setting captions and tooltips for macros Each macro can have both a caption and a tooltip. The caption is displayed whenever the menu command is used and can be displayed as part of a button, while the tooltip appears when the pointer hovers over the button or menu item. For more information, see the following procedures: • “To set a caption for a macro” on page 58 • “To set a tooltip for a macro” on page 59
To create a macro toolbar 1 Click Tools Options. 2 Click Workspace Customization Command bars. 3 Click New. 4 Type a name for the toolbar. 5 Enable the check box next to the name of the toolbar.
To add buttons to a macro toolbar 1 Click Workspace Customization Commands. 2 Choose Macros from the Commands list box. The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subroutines from all of the installed project (GMS) files. 3 Drag a macro from the list to the toolbar. The macro appears on the toolbar with the default macro icon.
To associate an image or icon with a macro 1 Click Workspace Customization Commands. 2 Choose Macros from the Commands list box. The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subroutines from all of the installed project (GMS) files. 3 Select a macro in the Command list. 4 Click the Appearance tab, and then do one of the following: • To apply a Windows bitmap (BMP) image to the macro, click Import, navigate to where the image is stored, and select it. The colors in the image are mapped to their closest available matches. • To create a customized icon for the macro, edit the pixels displayed in the Image area.
To set a caption for a macro 1 Click Workspace Customization Commands. 2 Choose Macros from the Commands list box.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 58 The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subroutines from all of the installed project (GMS) files. 3 Select a macro in the Command list. 4 Click the Appearance tab, and then type the caption in the Caption box. To specify a character in the caption as an accelerator that can be activated in combination with the Alt key, type an ampersand ( & ) in front of that character. This accelerator key applies only to menu commands, which display accelerator characters with an underscore ( _ ).
To set a tooltip for a macro 1 Click Workspace Customization Commands. 2 Choose Macros from the Commands list box. The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subroutines from all of the installed project (GMS) files. 3 Select a macro in the Command list. 4 Click the General tab, and then type the tooltip in the To o l t i p h e l p box.
Providing dialog boxes for macros A dialog box provides a user-friendly interface for more complex macro solutions. For best results, all dialog boxes must provide the following: • a meaningful title • an obvious function for cancelling or closing the dialog box • an easy-to-use layout • a Help button from which users can access how-to documentation • a tooltip (that is, a ControlTipText string) for every control There are two types dialog boxes: modal and modeless.
Understanding modal dialog boxes A modal dialog box locks the application until the user acts on and then closes the dialog box. Most built-in dialog boxes for macro solutions are modal, and most modal dialog boxes provide the following buttons: • OK — performs an action and then closes the dialog box. This button is the default. • Cancel — closes the dialog box without performing an action. This button provides the same functionality as the Close button in the upper-right corner of a dialog box. In addition, some modal dialog boxes provide the following button: • Apply — performs an action that can be commited by clicking the OK button or cancelled by clicking the Cancel button Finally, most wizard-style dialog boxes provide the following buttons: • Previous — returns to the previous page. This button can be disabled on the first page of the dialog box.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 59 • Next — advances to the next page. This button can be replaced by a Finish button on the last page of the dialog box. • Finish — performs the action for the dialog box and then closes the dialog box
Understanding modeless dialog boxes A modeless dialog box does not lock the application, so the user can leave the dialog box open and continue working in the application. In this way, modeless dialog boxes behave like dockers. Most modeless dialog boxes provide the following buttons: • Apply or Create — performs an action (and can, in fact, be specially labeled to describe that action). This button is typically the default. • Close –– closes the dialog box. This button is used after the action is applied.
Choosing between modal and modeless dialog boxes Before you can create a dialog box for your macro solution, you must decide whether to make it modal or modeless by considering what you want the dialog box to achieve. For example, let’s say that you are creating a “one-shot” end-to-end solution such as a customized Print dialog box or Save dialog box. In this case, you would provide a modal dialog box because it is unlikely that the user would want to apply the specified settings repeatedly. On the other hand, let’s say that you are creating a solution for setting up an effect to apply to a selection of shapes. To let the user specify the desired settings and then apply them repeatedly, you would provide a modeless dialog box. After choosing which type of dialog box to provide, you are ready to set it up. For information, see “Setting up dialog boxes” on page 60. After setting up a dialog box, you are ready to code it. For information, see “Coding dialog boxes” on page 63.
Setting up dialog boxes The Form Designer in the Macro Editor provides easy access to the tools for setting up a dialog box. You can access the Form Designer by creating a new, blank dialog box. In the Project Explorer, right-click the project to which you want to add a dialog box, and then click Insert UserForm.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 60 A blank form in the Form Designer The Form Designer provides two main features for designing dialog boxes: •the Form Designer toolbox •The UserForm toolbar The Form Designer also provides functions for naming and testing dialog boxes.
Designing dialog boxes The Form Designer toolbox is the main utility for designing dialog boxes. It lets you add controls to a dialog box by dragging them from the toolbox.
The Form Designer toolbox The Form Designer toolbox lets you add the following controls to a dialog box:
Icon Control name Function
Label Provides static text, such as instructions or captions
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 61 Icon Control name Function
Te x t B ox Provides an area for typing text. For information on coding this control, see “Providing text boxes in dialog boxes” on page 64. ComboBox Provides a list from which a single item can be selected; optionally, also provides an area for typing text. For information on coding this control, see “Providing combination boxes and list boxes in dialog boxes” on page 64. ListBox Provides a list from which multiple items can be selected. For information on coding this control, see “Providing combination boxes and list boxes in dialog boxes” on page 64. CheckBox Provides a check box that can be enabled (by clicking to display a check mark), disabled (by clicking to remove the check mark), or grayed (that is, made unavailable) OptionButton Provides a “radio button” that is linked to other radio buttons with the same GroupName property, such that only one of the buttons can be enabled at a time ToggleButton Provides a button that can be toggled (to appear pressed or not pressed)
Frame Groups items together so that they move with the frame
CommandButton Provides a button that can be clicked to commit an assigned action. For information on coding this control, see “Providing buttons in dialog boxes” on page 64. Ta b S t r i p Provides separate views of related controls
MultiPage Provides multiple pages of controls
ScrollBar Provides immediate access to a range of values by scrolling
SpinButton Enhances another control (such as a Tex t B ox control) so that the value for that control can be set more quickly Image Provides an image. For information on coding this control, see “Providing images in dialog boxes” on page 66.
The Form Designer toolbox also features a Pick tool , which lets you select and move the controls on a dialog box. To display a Help topic containing information about a selected dialog-box control in the Form Designer, press F1.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 62 The Form Designer also provides access to the UserForm toolbar, which you can use when designing a dialog box. For information on this toolbar, see “Using the Macro Editor toolbars” on page 37.
Naming dialog boxes After you have finished designing your dialog box, you may want to change its title. Click the dialog box to select it, and then in the Properties window, change the Caption property. For clarity, you can give each dialog box a unique, descriptive name by using the Properties window. However, remember to follow the standard programming conventions for naming variables.
Testing dialog boxes At any time, you can test your dialog box by pressing F5 to run it. After you finish setting up your dialog box, you can start coding it. For information, see “Coding dialog boxes” on page 63.
Coding dialog boxes After setting up a dialog box, you can develop the VBA code for displaying it. You can also develop the code for providing its text boxes, combination boxes and list boxes, buttons, and images.
Displaying dialog boxes The Show method for a dialog box lets you determine how the dialog box is displayed. For example, the following code uses the Show method to display the dialog box frmFooForm: frmFooForm.Show In addition, the Show method provides a Modal parameter, which lets you specify whether the dialog box is modal or modeless. A value of vbModal (or 1) for this parameter creates a modal dialog box, while a value of vbModeless (or 0) creates a modeless dialog box. The following VBA example creates a modeless dialog box: frmFooForm.Show vbModeless To open a dialog box from a macro that is available from within the application itself, you must create a public subroutine within a code module. However, a subroutine cannot be made available from within the application if the subroutine exists either within the code for a dialog box or within a class module. In addition, the subroutine cannot take any parameters. The following VBA example subroutine opens frmFooForm as a modeless dialog box: Public Sub showFooForm() frmFooForm.Show vbModeless End Sub When a dialog box loads, it triggers its own UserForm_Initialize event. From this event handler, you must initialize all the relevant controls on the dialog box. For more information, see “Providing event handlers” on page 25. Finally, you can also use the Show method to open additional dialog boxes from within the current one, as in the following VBA example:
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 63 UserForm2.Show vbModal However, control is not returned to you until all open dialog boxes are unloaded.
Providing text boxes in dialog boxes Text boxes (that is, Te x t B ox controls) are the mainstay of user input. They are simple to use and quick to program, and they are suitable for a number of purposes. To set the text in a text box when initializing it, set the Te x t (default or implicit) property for the Tex t B ox control, as in the following VBA example: txtWidth.Text = "3" txtHeight = "1" To get the value of a Tex t B ox control, get its Te x t property in the Properties window, as in the following VBA example: Call SetSize(txtWidth.Text, txtHeight.Text)
Providing combination boxes and list boxes in dialog boxes In a combination box (that is, a ComboBox control), the user can either choose an item from the list or type a value into the text box. You can prevent users from being able to type into a ComboBox control by setting its Style property (in the Properties window) to fmStyleDropDownList. In a list box (that is, a ListBox control), the user can choose one or more items (typically, from between three and ten items) from the list. To populate a list of any type, you must call the member function AddItem for the list. This function takes two parameters: the string or numerical value, and the position in the list. The position parameter is optional, so omitting it inserts the item at the last position in the list. For example, the following VBA code populates the list ComboBox1 with four items: ComboBox1.AddItem 1 ComboBox1.AddItem 2 ComboBox1.AddItem 3 ComboBox1.AddItem 0, 0 To test which item is selected when the OK button is clicked, test the ListIndex property for the list. To get the value of the caption for a selected combination box or list box, test the Tex t property for the item, as in the following VBA example: Dim retList As String retList = ComboBox1.Text
Providing buttons in dialog boxes You can add a button to a dialog box by using the CommandButton control. Click the dialog box to add a default-sized button, or drag to create a custom-sized one. Click the caption to edit it, or select the button and edit its Caption property in the Properties window. You might also want to change the name of the button to something more descriptive, such as buttonOK or buttonCancel.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 64 Designing buttons in the Form Designer Most dialog boxes have an OK button and a Cancel button. However, no button functions until its dialog box has code for handling the click event for the button. (This is because dialog boxes in VBA and VSTA are event- driven.) For an OK button, you can set its Default property to Tr u e so that the event handler for the button is called when the user presses Enter to activate the dialog box. That way, the click-event handler for the button performs the functionality of the dialog box and then unloads that dialog box. If the dialog box is used to set the size of the selected CorelDRAW shapes by setting their width and height, then the click-event handler for the OK button could resemble the following VBA code sample (which assumes you have already created two text boxes called txtWidth and txtHeight): Private Sub buttonOK_Click() Me.Hide Call SetSize(txtWidth.Text, txtHeight.Text) Unload Me End Sub Similarly, the size-setting CorelDRAW subroutine could resemble the following: Private Sub SetSize(width As String, height As String) ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveSelection.SetSize CDbl(width), CDbl(height) End Sub From inside the code module for the dialog box, the dialog-box object is implicit, so all the controls can be simply accessed by name. From other modules, the controls must be accessed through their full name (as in UserForm1.buttonOK).
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 65 The Cancel button is the simplest control: it must dismiss the form without doing anything else. To add a cancel action to a Cancel button, double-click the button from within the Form Designer to display its code in the Code window. This creates a new subroutine called cmdCancel_Click:
The Code window with code for a Cancel button The following VBA code, if applied to a Cancel button, dismisses the dialog box when the button is clicked: Private Sub cmdCancel_Click() Unload Me End Sub If you continue by setting the Cancel property for the dialog box to Tr u e , then when the user presses Escape, the cmdCancel_Click event is triggered and the provided code unloads the form.
Providing images in dialog boxes The Image control is used to place graphics on a dialog box. The image (a bitmap) is contained in the Picture property, so you can either load an RGB image from a file (such as a GIF, JPEG, or Windows Bitmap BMP file) or paste one into the property. At run time, you can change the Picture property if you want to load a new image into the Image control. To change the Picture property, use the function LoadPicture and provide a path to the new image file, as in the following VBA example: Image1.Picture = LoadPicture("C:\Images\NewImage.gif")
Providing user interaction for macros One way to make your macro solutions more user-friendly is to optimize them for user interaction, such as mouse input. A macro that captures mouse actions gives users real-time influence on the result of that macro.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 66 The CorelDRAW object model provides three main ways to receive mouse input from users, as explained in the following topics: • “Capturing mouse clicks” on page 67 • “Capturing mouse drags” on page 68 • “Capturing coordinates” on page 68
Capturing mouse clicks To get the position of a single mouse click, you can use the GetUserClick method of the Document class. This method pauses the macro until the specified period of time elapses, or until the user clicks in the document or presses Escape. Here is a VBA example that uses the Document.GetUserClick method: Dim doc As Document, retval As Long Dim x As Double, y As Double, shift As Long Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrCentimeter retval = doc.GetUserClick(x, y, shift, 10, True, cdrCursorPick) The following parameters for the Document.GetUserClick method are coded into the preceding example: •The variable x returns the horizontal position of the mouse click. •The variable y returns the vertical position of the mouse click. • The parameter shift returns the combination of the Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys that is held down by the user when clicking the mouse. The Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys are assigned values of 1, 2, and 4 (respectively), the sum of which is the returned value. •The value 10 specifies the number of seconds for the user to click in the document. •The value True specifies that the SnapToObjects parameter is enabled. •The value cdrCursorPick specifies that the icon for the Pick tool is used for the cursor icon. (You cannot use a custom icon.) One of the following values is returned: • 0 — The user successfully completes the click. • 1 — The user cancels by pressing Escape. • 2 — The operation times out. The returned coordinates are relative to the origin of the page and, unless explicity specified, are in document units. To get the shapes under the returned click point, you can use the method SelectShapesAtPoint (which is a member of Page), as in the following VBA example: doc.ActivePage.SelectShapesAtPoint x, y, True
A value of True selects unfilled objects, while False does not select unfilled objects.
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 67 Capturing mouse drags To get the position of a mouse drag (or an area or rectangle), you can use the GetUserArea method of the Document class. This method pauses the macro until the specified period of time elapses, or until the user clicks, drags, and releases in the document or presses Escape. Here is a VBA example that uses the Document.GetUserArea method: Dim doc As Document, retval As Long, shift As Long Dim x1 As Double, y1 As Double, x2 As Double, y2 As Double Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrCentimeter retval = doc.GetUserArea(x1, y1, x2, y2, shift, 10, True, cdrCursorExtPick) ActivePage.SelectShapesFromRectangle x1, y1, x2, y2, False The following parameters for the Document.GetUserArea method are coded into the preceding example: •The variables x1 and y1 return the horizontal and vertical positions (respectively) of the upper-left corner of the area. •The variables x2 and y2 return the horizontal and vertical positions (respectively) of the lower-right corner of the area. • The parameter shift returns the combination of the Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys that is held down by the user when dragging the mouse. The Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys are assigned values of 1, 2, and 4 (respectively), the sum of which is the returned value. •The value 10 specifies the number of seconds for the user to click in the document. •The value True specifies that the SnapToObjects parameter is enabled. •The value cdrCursorExtPick specifies the icon to use for the cursor. In the preceding example, the code ends by selecting the shapes that lie completely within the area by using the Page.SelectShapesFromRectangle method. One of the following values is returned: • 0 — The user successfully completes the selection. • 1 — The user cancels by pressing Escape. • 2 — The operation times out. This method returns two points that are interpreted as the corners of a rectangle. However, the two points can also be used as the start point and end point of a mouse drag. The returned coordinates are relative to the origin of the page and, unless explicity specified, are in document units.
Capturing coordinates When capturing mouse actions, or when developing a complex macro solution, you may want to convert between screen coordinates and document coordinates. This conversion is done with the methods ScreenToDocument and DocumentToScreen of the Window class. The following VBA example converts a set of screen coordinates into a point in the document that is visible in the active window:
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 68 Dim docX As Double, docY As Double ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveWindow.ScreenToDocument 440, 500, docX, docY The following VBA example returns the screen coordinates of a point in the document as it appears on the screen: Dim screenX As Long, screenY As Long ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveWindow.DocumentToScreen 40, 60, screenX, screenY In both examples, the converted coordinates are returned in the last two parameters. Screen coordinates start from the upper-left corner of the screen, so positive y-values are down the screen, whereas negative y-values are up the screen. You can test whether a set of coordinates (that is, a point) is inside, outside, or on the outline of a curve by using the Shape.IsOnShape method. For a set of document coordinates, this method returns one of the following: • cdrInsideShape — if the coordinate is inside the shape • cdrOutsideShape — if the coordinate is outside the shape • cdrOnMarginOfShape — if the coordinate is on or near the outline of the shape For example, the following VBA code tests where the point (4, 6) is in relation to the active shape: Dim onShape As Long ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch onShape = ActiveShape.IsOnShape(4, 6)
Providing documentation for macros To make a macro as user-friendly as possible, you can provide documentation for it. One solution is to create a Readme file or a printed manual. Another solution is to incorporate the documentation directly into the user interface for the macro, but this method uses up valuable on-screen “real estate.” Yet another solution is to create an online Help system, but this method requires special tools and a fair amount of additional work. Perhaps the simplest way to provide macro documentation is in the form of a plain-text file. In fact, upon installation, a macro project can create a registry value that points to the location of this file. In VBA, the following function can be used to open a plain-text file (where the parameter file provides the full path to the file, such as C:\ReadMe.txt): Public Sub launchNotepad(file As String) Shell "Notepad.exe" & " " & file, vbNormalFocus End Sub
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 69 A much more powerful solution is to provide documentation in HTML format. HTML provides numerous benefits over plain-text, including support for graphics and for hypertext links (such as to specific locations in the document — for example, index.html#middle). In VBA, the following function can be used to open an HTML file (where the parameter url provides the full path to the file — such as C:\ReadMe.txt — or a URL for the file): ' Put this Declare statement before all Subs and Functions! Declare PtrSafe Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" _ Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _ ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, _ ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, _ ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As LongPtr Public Sub launchBrowser(url As String) ShellExecute 0, vbNullString, url, vbNullString, vbNullString, 5 End Sub
Macro Programming Guide Making macros user-friendly 70 Organizing and deploying macros
When you’ve finished developing your macro solution, you can make it available to other users.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “Organizing macros” on page 71 • “Deploying macros” on page 71
Organizing macros To make your macro solutions easy to deploy, you can organize them. Here are some tips: • To sort your macros, use a separate code module for each macro, and then group related macros into a single GMS file. • To help users find the entry point to a macro, place all public subroutines into a single code module so that the macro can be called from within the application.
Deploying macros You can deploy macro solutions to users for installation. You can deploy GMS files or workspaces, or both.
Deploying GMS files Every document has an intrinsic GMS file. For this reason, you can explicitly distribute a macro as part of a document because when that document is opened, the user has immediate access to its macros. This deployment technique lets you, for example, set up a macro to track how much time the user has spent editing a document. Alternatively, you can distribute the code module that contains the macro. However, this deployment method requires users to manually integrate the code module into an existing project file. The simplest and most reliable way to deploy a macro project is to use its GMS file. To begin, you must export the GMS file from your computer. Then, each user must import the GMS file by using the Macro Manager docker. For more information, see the following procedures: • “To export a GMS file” on page 72 • “To import a GMS file” on page 72
Deploying workspaces Some macro solutions include a customized workspace that contains relevant toolbars, menus, and shortcut keys. You can deploy the features of a customized workspace to users by creating a Corel workspace (XSLT) file. You can export a subset of workspace features — such as individual menus, individual toolbars, or complete sets of shortcut keys — if you want users to install only those features, or you can export the entire workspace if you prefer. For more information, see “To export workspace features” on page 72.
Macro Programming Guide Organizing and deploying macros 71 Users can install customized workspace features by importing the XSLT files that you provide. For more information, see “To import workspace features” on page 72. In CorelDRAW, users can also import workspace features by using the Application.ImportWorkspace method.
To export a GMS file • Locate the GMS file on your computer, and make it available to your users. For help locating this folder, see “Using GMS files” on page 45.
To import a GMS file 1 Save the GMS file to a GMS folder on your computer. For help locating this folder, see “Using GMS files” on page 45. 2 In the Macro Manager docker, do one of the following: •Click Visual Basic for Applications in the list, click Load, and then choose the project. •Right-click Visual Basic for Applications in the list, and then click Load macro project.
To export workspace features 1 Right-click the menu bar, and click Customize Workspace Export Workspaces. 2 In the list, enable the check boxes next to the workspace features that you want to export: • Dockers — includes the sizes and positions of dockers • Menus — lets you choose which menus to include • Shortcut Keys — includes all available shortcut keys • Status Bar — includes the status bar • To o l b a r s — lets you choose which toolbars to include Enable all check boxes if you want to export the entire workspace. 3 Click Save. 4 In the File name box, type a filename. The specified workspace features are saved to a single Corel workspace (XSLT) file with the specified filename. If you want, you can export each workspace feature to a separate file. Simply export one item at a time to create a series of XSLT files. When you export shortcut keys, you export all shortcut keys. If you want to distribute only a few keys, create a new workspace, remove all shortcut keys from it, and then add only the desired keys.
To import workspace features 1 Right-click the toolbar, and click Customize Workspace Import Workspaces. 2 Click Browse. 3 Select the desired Corel workspace (XSLT) file, and then click Next. 4 In the list, enable the check boxes next to the workspace features that you want to import:
Macro Programming Guide Organizing and deploying macros 72 • Dockers — includes the sizes and positions of dockers • Menus — lets you choose which menus to include • Shortcut Keys — includes all available shortcut keys • Status Bar — includes the status bar • To o l b a r s — lets you choose which toolbars to include Enable all check boxes if you want to import the entire workspace. 5 Click Next. 6 Choose a destination for the workspace features by doing one of the following: • Enable the Current workspace option to import the specified workspace features into the current workspace, and then click Next. • Enable the New workspace option to import the specified workspace features into a new workspace. Click Next, and provide details about the workspace. Click Next. 7 Confirm the details of the import, and then click Finish. The specified workspace features are imported into the specified workspace. If the name of an incoming toolbar is the same as an existing toolbar, the incoming toolbar is renamed. If an imported command calls an uninstalled macro, it does not function.
Macro Programming Guide Organizing and deploying macros 73 Understanding the object models
In CorelDRAW, the Application object is the root of all other objects and is used if no other root object is specified. Documents, pages, layers, shapes, and filters are among the most important objects in the CorelDRAW object model. Understanding these objects — and their relationships to one another — is the key to understanding the CorelDRAW object model.
In this section This section contains the following topics: • “Understanding the object-model hierarchy” on page 74 • “Working with the Application object” on page 75 • “Working with documents” on page 75 • “Working with pages” on page 94 • “Working with layers” on page 100 • “Working with shapes” on page 104 • “Working with import filters and export filters” on page 140 • “Arranging open documents” on page 144 All code examples in this section are written in VBA. For a visual representation of the object model, please see the object-model diagram at X:\Program Files\Corel\
Understanding the object-model hierarchy The main structure of the CorelDRAW object model can be summarized as follows: •The Application object contains a Documents collection of all open Document objects. When a CorelDRAW document is created or opened, a corresponding Document object is added to the Documents collection for the Application object. •Each Document object contains a Pages collection of all the Page objects (or “pages”) in that document. •Each Page object contains a Layers collection of all the Layer objects (or “layers”) on that page. •Each Layer object contains a Shapes collection of all the Shape objects (or “shapes”) on that layer. In addition, the object model contains a set of filter objects, which provide support for files from other technical- graphics applications. Import filters are governed by the Layer class, while export filters are governed by the Document class.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 74 For a visual representation of the object model, please see the object-model diagram at X:\Program Files\Corel\
Working with the Application object In CorelDRAW, the Application object is the root of all other objects and is used if no other root object is specified. You can use the application’s Application object to reference the application’s object model from an out-of-process controller. Dim cdr As CorelDRAW.Application Set cdr = CreateObject("CorelDRAW.Application") If desired, you can avoid using the CreateObject keyword in the preceding example by importing the target type library and using the data types directly.
Working with documents Each open document, or Document object, is a member of the Application.Documents collection. The documents in that collection appear in the order in which they were created or opened. CorelDRAW provide a number of properties, methods, and events for working with documents, the most useful of which are listed in the following table.
Class Member Description
ActiveView OriginX property Combine to specify the origin of the and active view OriginY property For more information, see “Panning” on page 87.
ActiveView SetViewPoint method Specifies the origin of the active view For more information, see “Panning” on page 87.
ActiveView Zoom property Specifies the zoom factor of the active view For more information, see “Zooming” on page 87.
Application ActiveDocument property Provides direct access to the active document For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 75 Class Member Description
Application CreateDocument method Create a document or For more information, see “Creating CreateDocumentFromTemplate method documents” on page 83.
Application DocumentAfterExport event Is triggered when a document is exported (that is, when the Export dialog box closes) For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Application DocumentAfterPrint event Is triggered when a document is printed (that is, when the Print dialog box closes) For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Application DocumentAfterSave event Is triggered when a document is saved (that is, when the Save dialog box closes) For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Application DocumentBeforeExport event Is triggered when the Export dialog box opens For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Application DocumentBeforePrint event Is triggered when the Print dialog box opens For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Application DocumentBeforeSave event Is triggered when the Save dialog box opens For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Application DocumentClose event Is triggered when a document is closed For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
Application DocumentNew event Is triggered when a document is created For more information, see “Creating documents” on page 83.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 76 Class Member Description
Application DocumentOpen event Is triggered when a document is opened For more information, see “Opening documents” on page 84.
Application Documents property Contains the collection of open documents For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
Application OpenDocument method Opens a document For more information, see “Opening documents” on page 84.
Application QueryDocumentClose event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to close a document For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
Application QueryDocumentExport event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to export a document For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Application QueryDocumentPrint event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to print a document For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Application QueryDocumentSave event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to save a document For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Application WindowActivate event Is triggered when a window is activated For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
Application WindowDeactivate event Is triggered when a window is deactivated For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
Document Activate method Activates a document For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 77 Class Member Description
Document ActiveWindow property Provides direct access to the active window for a document For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
Document AfterExport event Is triggered when a document is exported (that is, when the Export dialog box closes) For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Document AfterPrint event Is triggered when a document is printed (that is, when the Print dialog box closes) For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Document AfterSave event Is triggered when a document is saved (that is, when the Save dialog box closes) For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Document BeforeExport event Is triggered when the Export dialog box opens For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Document BeforePrint event Is triggered when the Print dialog box opens For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Document BeforeSave event Is triggered when the Save dialog box opens For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Document BeginCommandGroup method Combine to create a “command group” and that reduces a series of programmed, EndCommandGroup method document-related actions to a single, undoable step For more information, see “Creating command groups for documents” on page 88.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 78 Class Member Description
Document Close event Is triggered when a document is closed For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
Document Close method Closes a document For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
Document CreateView method Creates a document view For more information, see “Working with views” on page 86.
Document Export method, Exports a file from a document ExportEx method, For more information, see “Exporting or files from documents” on page 89. ExportBitmap method
Document FilePath property, Specifies the file path or filename (or FileName property, both) of a saved document or For more information, see “Activating FullFileName property documents” on page 84.
Document GetUserArea method Returns information about a document area that the user drags with the mouse For more information, see “Capturing mouse drags” on page 68.
Document GetUserClick method Returns information about a document position that the user clicks with the mouse For more information, see “Capturing mouse clicks” on page 67.
Document Open event Is triggered when a document is opened For more information, see “Opening documents” on page 84.
Document PrintOut method Combine to print a document by using and the specified settings PrintSettings property For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Document PublishToPDF method Combine to publish a document to and PDF by using the specified settings PDFSettings property For more information, see “Publishing documents to PDF” on page 91.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 79 Class Member Description
Document QueryClose event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to close a document For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
Document QueryExport event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to export a document For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
Document QueryPrint event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to print a document For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
Document QuerySave event Is triggered when the user responds to a request to save a document For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
Document ReferencePoint property Specifies the reference point for the document For more information, see “Setting document properties” on page 85.
Document SaveAs method Saves a document or For more information, see “Saving Save method documents” on page 88.
Document Unit property Specifies the unit of measurement for the document For more information, see “Setting document properties” on page 85.
Document WorldScale property Specifies the drawing scale for the document For more information, see “Setting document properties” on page 85.
Document Views property Contains the collection of views for a document For more information, see “Working with views” on page 86.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 80 Class Member Description
GlobalMacroStor DocumentAfterExport event Is triggered when a document is age exported (that is, when the Export dialog box closes) For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentAfterPrint event Is triggered when a document is printed age (that is, when the Print dialog box closes) For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentAfterSave event Is triggered when a document is saved age (that is, when the Save dialog box closes) For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentBeforeExport event Is triggered when the Export dialog age box opens For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentBeforePrint event Is triggered when the Print dialog box age opens For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentBeforeSave event Is triggered when the Save dialog box age opens For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentClose event Is triggered when a document is closed age For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentNew event Is triggered when a document is created age For more information, see “Creating documents” on page 83.
GlobalMacroStor DocumentOpen event Is triggered when a document is opened age For more information, see “Opening documents” on page 84.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 81 Class Member Description
GlobalMacroStor QueryDocumentClose event Is triggered when the user responds to a age request to close a document For more information, see “Closing documents” on page 93.
GlobalMacroStor QueryDocumentExport event Is triggered when the user responds to a age request to export a document For more information, see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89.
GlobalMacroStor QueryDocumentPrint event Is triggered when the user responds to a age request to print a document For more information, see “Printing documents” on page 92.
GlobalMacroStor QueryDocumentSave event Is triggered when the user responds to a age request to save a document For more information, see “Saving documents” on page 88.
GlobalMacroStor WindowActivate event Is triggered when a window is activated age For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
GlobalMacroStor WindowDeactivate event Is triggered when a window is age deactivated For more information, see “Activating documents” on page 84.
View Activate method Applies a saved view to the document window For more information, see “Working with views” on page 86.
Window Activate method Activates a document window For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
Window ActiveView property Provides direct access to the active view for a document window For more information, see “Working with views” on page 86.
Window Close method Closes a document window For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 82 Class Member Description
Window NewWindow method Creates a document window For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
Window Next property Accesses the next window for a document For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
Window Previous property Accesses the previous window for a document For more information, see “Working with windows” on page 86.
For detailed information on any property, method, or event, see “Object Model Reference” section in the Macros Help file for the application.
In this topic For more information on document-related activities, see the following subtopics: • “Creating documents” on page 83 • “Opening documents” on page 84 • “Activating documents” on page 84 • “Setting document properties” on page 85 • “Displaying documents” on page 86 • “Modifying documents” on page 88 • “Creating command groups for documents” on page 88 • “Saving documents” on page 88 • “Exporting files from documents” on page 89 • “Publishing documents to PDF” on page 91 • “Printing documents” on page 92 • “Closing documents” on page 93 Files of all supported formats can be imported. Imported files are placed on document layers, so information on importing files is provided in the section on working with layers (see “Importing files into layers” on page 103) rather than in this section on working with documents.
Creating documents The Application object has two methods for creating documents: CreateDocument and CreateDocumentFromTemplate. The Application.CreateDocument method creates an empty document based on the default page size, orientation, and styles:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 83 Application.CreateDocument() As Document The Application.CreateDocumentFromTemplate method creates an untitled document from a specified template (CDT) file: Application.CreateDocumentFromTemplate(Template As String, _ [IncludeGraphics As Boolean = True])As Document Both of these functions return a reference to the new document, so they are typically used in the following manner: Dim newDoc as Document Set newDoc = CreateDocument The new document becomes active immediately and can be referenced by using the Application.ActiveDocument property. For more information on this property, see “Activating documents” on page 84. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by creating a document: • Application.DocumentNew • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentNew
Opening documents To open a document, you can use the Application.OpenDocument method. Dim doc As Document Set doc = OpenDocument("C:\graphic1.cdr") If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by opening a document: • Application.DocumentOpen • Document.Open • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentOpen
Activating documents Each open document is a member of the Application.Documents collection. The documents in that collection appear in the order in which they were created or opened. To reflect the actual stacking order of the documents, you must use the Application.Windows collection. The Application.ActiveDocument property provides direct access to the active document — that is, the document that is in front of all the other documents in the application window. ActiveDocument is an object of type Document and, therefore, has the same members — properties, methods, and objects — as the Document class. If no documents are open, ActiveDocument returns nothing. You can check for open documents by using the following VBA code: If Documents.Count = 0 Then
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 84 MsgBox "There aren't any open documents.", vbOK, "No Docs" Exit Sub End If The Document.Activate method activates a document so that it can be referenced by ActiveDocument. The following VBA code activates the third open document (if three or more documents are open): Documents(3).Activate Using the Document.Activate method on the Application.ActiveDocument property has no effect. If you want, you can specify which open document to activate by referencing the one of the following properties: • Document.FilePath — checks only the file path (for example, C:\My Documents) • Document.FileName — checks only the filename (for example, Graphic1.cdr) • Document.FullFileName — checks both the file path and the filename (for example, C:\My Documents\Graphic1.cdr) You can check the filename of each open document by using the following VBA code: Public Function findDocument(filename As String) As Document Dim doc As Document For Each doc In Documents If doc.FileName = filename Then Exit For Set doc = Nothing Next doc Set findDocument = doc End Function You can then activate the returned document by using the Document.Activate method.
Setting document properties You can specify the reference point, unit of measurement, and drawing scale for a document by using the corresponding properties of the Document class. The Document.ReferencePoint property specifies the reference point for a document. This point is referenced when positioning the objects in that document. The Document.Unit property specifies the unit of measurement for a document. This unit is used to position and size the objects in that document. The Document.WorldScale property specifies the drawing scale for a document. The drawing scale lets you make the distances in a drawing proportionate to real-world distances; for example, you can specify that 1 inch in the drawing corresponds to 1 meter in the physical world. These properties affect all elements in your document, such as the objects that you draw. For optimal results, choose the settings that best fit your macro solution.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 85 Displaying documents You can simultaneously display multiple windows for a single document. For example, a large document can be displayed with one window zoomed in to the upper-right corner of the document and another zoomed in to the lower-right corner. Although the individual windows can be zoomed and panned independently, turning the page in one window affects all windows. By using the View Manager, you can create views that have individual display settings. Choosing a saved view displays the page according to the settings for that view. In VBA, the Window object provides access to the windows that contain each View object for (or view of) a given document. The Window object represents a frame, while the View object displays the document inside that frame. Besides letting you work with windows and views, the application lets you display documents by zooming and panning.
Working with windows Each Document object has a Windows collection for displaying that document. To switch between windows, use the Window.Activate method: ActiveDocument.Windows(2).Activate The Document.ActiveWindow property provides direct access to the active window — that is, the document window that is in front of all other document windows. The next window and previous window for the active document are referenced in the Window.Next and Window.Previous properties: ActiveWindow.Next.Activate To create a new window, use the Window.NewWindow method: ActiveWindow.NewWindow To close a window (and the document, if it has only one open window), use the Window.Close method: ActiveWindow.Close If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by activating a window: • Application.WindowActivate • GlobalMacroStorage.WindowActivate You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deactivating a window: •Application.WindowDeactivate • GlobalMacroStorage.WindowDeactivate
Working with views The Window.ActiveView property and the Document.Views property both represent document views. Each Window object has one ActiveView object, which represents the current view of the document; saving the display settings for an ActiveView object creates a view. In contrast, each Document object has a collection of View objects in its Views property; choosing a View object activates the corresponding saved view, which contains the display settings for the corresponding ActiveView object.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 86 The only way to access an ActiveView object is from the Window.ActiveView property. You can create a View object and add it to a Document.Views collection. The following VBA code adds the current ActiveView settings to the Views collection: ActiveDocument.Views.AddActiveView "New View" You can also create a view with specific settings by using the Document.CreateView method. The following VBA code creates a new View object that accesses the position (3, 4) in inches, uses a zoom factor of 95%, and displays page 6: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveDocument.CreateView "New View 2", 3, 4, 95, 6 To apply a saved view to the active window, call the View.Activate method: ActiveDocument.Views("New View").Activate
Zooming To zoom an ActiveView object by a set amount, set the ActiveView.Zoom property by specifying a double value in percent. For example, the following VBA code sets the zoom factor to 200%: ActiveWindow.ActiveView.Zoom = 200.0 You can also zoom by using the following methods of the ActiveView class: •SetActualSize • ToFitAllObjects •ToFitArea •ToFitPage • ToFitPageHeight •ToFitPageWidth •ToFitSelection •ToFitShape • ToFitShapeRange
Panning To p a n a n ActiveView object, you can move its origin by modifying the ActiveView.OriginX and ActiveView.OriginY properties. The following VBA code pans the document 5 inches to the left and 3 inches up: Dim av As ActiveView ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set av = ActiveWindow.ActiveView av.OriginX = av.OriginX - 5 av.OriginY = av.OriginY + 3 Alternatively, you can use the ActiveView.SetViewPoint method:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 87 Dim av As ActiveView ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set av = ActiveWindow.ActiveView av.SetViewPoint av.OriginX - 5, av.OriginY + 3
Modifying documents You can modify a document regardless of whether it is active. Modifying an inactive document does not activate that document. To activate a document, you must use its Activate method (see “Activating documents” on page 84). The following VBA code adds a layer named “fooLayer” to the third open document: Dim doc As Document Set doc = Documents(3) doc.ActivePage.CreateLayer "fooLayer" The following VBA code uses the findDocument() function to add a layer named “fooLayer” to the inactive document named barDoc.cdr: Dim doc As Document Set doc = findDocument("barDoc.cdr") If Not doc Is Nothing Then doc.ActivePage.CreateLayer "fooLayer"
Creating command groups for documents Two very useful methods of the Document class combine to create a “command group,” which can reduce a series of programmed, document-related actions to a single, undoable step. These methods — BeginCommandGroup and EndCommandGroup — are demonstrated in the following VBA example: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.BeginCommandGroup "CreateCurveEllipse" Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(0, 1, 1, 0) sh.ConvertToCurves ActiveDocument.EndCommandGroup The preceding code sets the Undo string in the Edit menu as Undo CreateCurveEllipse. Clicking this command undoes not only the ConvertToCurves operation but also the CreateEllipse operation. A command group can contain many hundreds of commands, if required. Creating command groups can make your macros appear to be fully integrated into the application.
Saving documents Two methods can be used for saving documents: Document.SaveAs and Document.Save. The Document.SaveAs method saves a document by using the specified file path and filename. You can use this method to save a previously unsaved document or to save an existing document to a different file.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 88 The Document.SaveAs method provides an optional parameter that lets you access the StructSaveAsOptions class to specify additional settings. The Document.Save method saves over an existing document file — that is, by using the existing file path and filename for the document. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by opening the Save dialog box: • Application.DocumentBeforeSave • Document.BeforeSave • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentBeforeSave You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by saving a document and closing the Save dialog box: • Application.DocumentAfterSave • Document.AfterSave • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentAfterSave Finally, you can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered when the user responds to a request to save a document: • Application.QueryDocumentSave •Document.QuerySave • GlobalMacroStorage.QueryDocumentSave
Exporting files from documents Files of all supported formats can be exported. Files are exported at the Document level because the range of exported objects can extend over multiple layers and multiple pages. However, files are imported at the Layer level because each imported object is assigned to a specified layer on a specified page (see “Importing files into layers” on page 103). The Document class has three file-export methods — Export, ExportEx, and ExportBitmap — all of which can export to the bitmap and vector formats. The wide selection of supported file formats is due to the vast number of filters that are available to the application. Each filter lets you work with the files from another graphics application. To learn more about working with these filters, see “Working with import filters and export filters” on page 140. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by opening the Export dialog box: • Application.DocumentBeforeExport • Document.BeforeExport • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentBeforeExport You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by exporting a document and closing the Export dialog box: • Application.DocumentAfterExport • Document.AfterExport • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentAfterExport
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 89 Finally, you can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered when the user responds to a request to export a document: • Application.QueryDocumentExport •Document.QueryExport • GlobalMacroStorage.QueryDocumentExport
Understanding the Document.Export method To export a page, you require only the Document.Export method, a filename, and a filter type. The following VBA code exports the current page to a TIFF bitmap file: ActiveDocument.Export "C:\ThisPage.eps", cdrTIFF However, the preceding code gives little control over the output of the image. More control is obtained by including a StructExportOptions object, as in the following VBA code: Dim expOpts As New StructExportOptions expOpts.ImageType = cdrCMYKColorImage expOpts.AntiAliasingType = cdrNormalAntiAliasing expOpts.ResolutionX = 72 expOpts.ResolutionY = 72 expOpts.SizeX = 210 expOpts.SizeY = 297 ActiveDocument.Export "C:\ThisPage.eps", cdrTIFF, cdrCurrentPage, expOpts A StructPaletteOptions object can also be included in the function call for palette-based image formats, if you want to provide the settings for automatically generating the palette.
Understanding the Document.ExportEx method The Document.ExportEx method is the same as the Document.Export method, except that ExportEx can retreive the dialog-box settings for a filter and apply those settings to the export: Dim eFilt As ExportFilter Set eFilt = ActiveDocument.ExportEx("C:\ThisPage.eps", cdrEPS) If eFilt.HasDialog = True Then If eFilt.ShowDialog = True Then eFilt.Finish End If Else eFilt.Finish End If
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 90 Understanding the Document.ExportBitmap method The Document.ExportBitmap method is similar to the Document.ExportEx method in that it returns an ExportFilter object that can be used to display the Export dialog box. However, the ExportBitmap method simplifies the coding by taking the individual members of the StructExportOptions object as parameters: Dim eFilt As ExportFilter Set eFilt = ActiveDocument.ExportBitmap("C:\Selection.eps", _ cdrTIFF, cdrSelection, cdrCMYKColorImage, _ 210, 297, 72, 72, cdrNormalAntiAliasing, _ False, True, False, cdrCompressionLZW) eFilt.Finish
Publishing documents to PDF Publishing documents to PDF is a two-step process. The first step is to specify the PDF settings (although this step can be skipped by specifying those settings from the application or by using the default settings). The second step is to export the file. To specify the PDF settings, you can use the Document.PDFSettings property. This property is an object of type PDFVBASettings and contains properties for all PDF settings that can be set in the Publish To PDF dialog box. The following VBA code exports pages 2, 3, and 5 to a PDF file named MyPDF.pdf: Dim doc As Document Set doc = ActiveDocument With doc.PDFSettings .Author = "Corel Corporation" .Bookmarks = True .ColorMode = pdfRGB .ComplexFillsAsBitmaps = False .CompressText = True .DownsampleGray = True .EmbedBaseFonts = True .EmbedFonts = True .Hyperlinks = True .Keywords = "Test, Example, Corel, CorelDRAW, PublishToPDF" .Linearize = True .PageRange = "2-3, 5" .pdfVersion = pdfVersion13 .PublishRange = pdfPageRange
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 91 .TrueTypeToType1 = True End With doc.PublishToPDF "C:\MyPDF.pdf" The following VBA example gives more control to the user by displaying the Publish to PDF Settings dialog box: Dim doc As Document Set doc = ActiveDocument If doc.PDFSettings.ShowDialog = True Then doc.PublishToPDF "C:\MyPDF.pdf" End If Profiles for PDF settings can be saved and loaded by using the PDFVBASettings.Save method and PDFVBASettings.Load method (respectively).
Printing documents Using VBA to print documents is straightforward: almost all settings that are available in the Print dialog box are available to the Document.PrintSettings property. When these properties are set, printing the document is simply a matter of calling the Document.PrintOut method. For example, the following VBA code prints three copies of pages 1, 3, and 4 to a level-3 PostScript® printer: With ActiveDocument.PrintSettings .Copies = 3 .PrintRange = prnPageRange .PageRange = "1, 3-4" .Options.PrintJobInfo = True With .PostScript .DownloadType1 = True .Level = prnPSLevel3 End With End With ActiveDocument.PrintOut Each page in the Print dialog box has a corresponding object-model class that contains all settings for that page. The following table lists these classes.
Page in Print dialog box Class in object model
General PrintSettings
Layout PrintSettings and PrintLayout
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 92 Page in Print dialog box Class in object model
Separations PrintSeparations and PrintTrapping
Prepress PrintPrepress
PostScript PrintPostScript
Misc PrintOptions You cannot set layout options in VBA. However, if necessary, you can open the Print dialog box by using the PrintSettings.ShowDialog method. You can print only the selected objects in a document by setting the PrintSettings.PrintRange property to prnSelection. You can use a specific printer in the Application.Printers collection by specifying it in the PrintSettings.Printer property. You can save a printing profile by using the PrintSettings.Save method. You can access a saved printing profile by using the PrintSettings.Load method, but be sure to specify the full path to the profile. You can reset the print settings by using the PrintSettings.Reset method. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by opening the Print dialog box: • Application.DocumentBeforePrint • Document.BeforePrint • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentBeforePrint You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by printing a document and closing the Print dialog box: • Application.DocumentAfterPrint • Document.AfterPrint • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentAfterPrint Finally, you can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered when the user responds to a request to print a document: • Application.QueryDocumentPrint •Document.QueryPrint • GlobalMacroStorage.QueryDocumentPrint
Closing documents You can close a document by calling the Document.Close method. The following VBA code closes the active document and activates the document behind it: ActiveDocument.Close If the code closes a document that is not active, the document referenced by the Application.ActiveDocument property does not change.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 93 You must explicitly test the Dirty property for a document and take appropriate action if that document has been modified. You can also close a document by using the Close method of the Document object itself (as in doc.Close). If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by closing a document: • Application.DocumentClose •Document.Close • GlobalMacroStorage.DocumentClose You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered when the user responds to a request to close a document: • Application.QueryDocumentClose •Document.QueryClose • GlobalMacroStorage.QueryDocumentClose
Working with pages Each page, or Page object, is a member of the Document.Pages collection for the document in which it appears. The pages in a Document.Pages collection appear in the order in which they appear in that document — for example, the fifth page in the active document is ActiveDocument.Pages.Item(5). If pages are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Pages collection is immediately updated to reflect the new page order of that document. CorelDRAW provide a number of properties, methods, and events for working with pages, the most useful of which are listed in the following table.
Class Member Description
Application ActivePage property Provides direct access to the active page of the active document For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Application PageSizes property Contains the collection of defined page sizes for the application For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99.
Document ActivePage property Provides direct access to the active page of a document For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 94 Class Member Description
Document AddPages method Adds blank pages to the end of a document or For more information, see “Creating pages” on AddPagesEx method page 96.
Document InsertPages method Inserts pages at the specified location in a or document InsertPagesEx method For more information, see “Creating pages” on page 96.
Document MasterPage property Specifies the default page size For more information, see “Specifying the default page size” on page 98.
Document PageActivate event Is triggered when a page is activated For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Document PageChange event Is triggered when a page is deactivated For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Document PageCreate event Is triggered when a page is created For more information, see “Creating pages” on page 96.
Document PageDelete event Is triggered when a page is deleted For more information, see “Deleting pages” on page 100.
Document Pages property Contains the collection of pages for a document For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Page Activate method Activates a page For more information, see “Activating pages” on page 97.
Page Delete method Deletes a page For more information, see “Deleting pages” on page 100.
Page MoveTo method Moves a page to the specified location in a document For more information, see “Reordering pages” on page 98.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 95 Class Member Description
Page SetSize method Sets the size of a page For more information, see “Specifying the size and orientation of pages” on page 98.
PageSize BuiltIn property Returns Tr u e if a page size is built-in (rather than user-defined) For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99.
PageSize Delete method Deletes a user-defined page size For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99.
PageSize Height property Specifies the height of a defined page size For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99.
PageSize Name property Specifies the name of a defined page size For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99.
PageSize Width property Specifies the width of a defined page size For more information, see “Using defined page sizes” on page 99. For detailed information on any property, method, or event, see “Object Model Reference” section in the Macros Help file for the application.
In this topic For more information on page-related activities, see the following subtopics: • “Creating pages” on page 96 • “Activating pages” on page 97 • “Reordering pages” on page 98 • “Sizing pages” on page 98 • “Modifying pages” on page 99 • “Deleting pages” on page 100
Creating pages The methods for creating pages belong to the Document class. Both the Document.AddPages method and the Document.AddPagesEx method add the specified number of pages to the end of a document. The difference between these methods is that AddPages uses the default page size, while AddPagesEx uses a specified size.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 96 Similarly, both the Document.InsertPages method and the Document.InsertPagesEx method insert the specified number of pages at the specified location in a document. The difference between these methods is that InsertPages uses the default page size, while InsertPagesEx uses a specified size. As an example, the following VBA code uses the AddPages method to add three default-sized pages to the end of the document: Public Function AddSomeSimplePages() as Page Set AddSomeSimplePages = ActiveDocument.AddPages(3) End Function The following VBA example uses the AddPagesEx method to add to the end of the document three pages that are 8.5 inches wide by 11 inches high: Public Function AddSomeSpecifiedPages() as Page Dim doc as Document Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrInch Set AddSomeSpecifiedPages = doc.AddPagesEx(3, 8.5, 11) End Function The preceding examples return the first page that was added; all other added pages follow this page. You can therefore reference any of the added pages by incrementing the Index property of the returned page: Dim firstNewPage As Page, secondNewPage As Page Set firstNewPage = AddSomeSimplePages Set secondNewPage = ActiveDocument.Pages(firstNewPage.Index + 1) If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by creating a page: • Document.PageCreate
Activating pages Each page is a member of the Document.Pages collection for the document in which it appears. The pages in a Document.Pages collection appear in the order in which they appear in that document — for example, the fifth page in the active document is ActiveDocument.Pages.Item(5). If pages are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Pages collection is immediately updated to reflect the new page order of that document. You can access the active page of the active document by using the Application.ActivePage property (or ActiveDocument.ActivePage, or simply ActivePage). A reference to the active page in the active document, of type Page, is returned. Dim pg As Page Set pg = ActivePage You can access the active page of a document, regardless of whether that document is active, by using ActivePage property for that document: Public Function getDocsActivePage(doc As Document) As Page
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 97 Set getDocsActivePage = doc.ActivePage End Function You can switch pages by finding the desired page and then invoking its Activate method. The following VBA code activates page 3 in a document: ActiveDocument.Pages(3).Activate If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by activating a page: • Document.PageActivate You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deactivating a page: • Document.PageChange
Reordering pages A page can be moved to another location in a document by using its MoveTo method. The following VBA code moves page 2 to the position of page 4: ActiveDocument.Pages(2).MoveTo 4 Activating a page in an inactive document does not activate that document. To activate a document, you must use its Activate method (see “Activating documents” on page 84).
Sizing pages You can specify the size and orientation of pages, specifying the default page size, and use defined page sizes.
Specifying the size and orientation of pages You can size a page by using its SetSize method, which applies two size values (width and height) to the page. The following VBA code changes the size of the active page in the active document to A4: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActivePage.SetSize 210, 297 ActivePage.Orientation = cdrLandscape For the SetSize method, the first number is always the page width and the second number is always the page height. Reversing the two numbers switches the orientation of the page.
Specifying the default page size The default page size for a document is determined by the value of the item that has an index of 0 in the Document.Pages collection. You can specify the default page size by changing the value of this item: Dim doc As Document Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrMillimeter
doc.Pages(0).SetSize 297, 210 Alternatively, you can use the Document.MasterPage property to specify the default page size:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 98 Dim doc As Document Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrMillimeter doc.MasterPage.SetSize 297, 210
Using defined page sizes Page sizes can be defined by either the application or the user. All defined page sizes are stored in the Application.PageSizes collection, and the name of each PageSize object in that collection is defined by its Name property: Dim pageSizeName As String pageSizeName = Application.PageSizes(3).Name Page sizes can be specified by name. For example, the following VBA code gets the PageSize object named “Business Card”: Dim thisSize As PageSize Set thisSize = Application.PageSizes("Business Card") You can get the actual dimensions of a PageSize object by using its Width and Height properties. The following VBA code retrieves the width and height (in millimeters) of the third PageSize object: Dim pageWidth As Double, pageHeight As Double Application.Unit = cdrMillimeter pageWidth = Application.PageSizes(3).Width pageHeight = Application.PageSizes(3).Height Although each PageSize object provides a Delete method, this method can be used only on user-defined page sizes. You can determine whether a PageSize object is user-defined by testing its BuiltIn Boolean property: Public Sub deletePageSize(thisSize As PageSize) If Not thisSize.BuiltIn Then thisSize.Delete End Sub You can specify a particular unit of measurement for a page size by setting the units for the document before getting its width and height.
Modifying pages You can modify a page regardless of whether it is active. Activating a page in an inactive document does not activate that document. To activate a document, you must use its Activate method (see “Activating documents” on page 84). By explicitly referencing the page that you want to modify, you can make those changes without activating the page. The following VBA code deletes all shapes on page 3 of the active document without activating that page: Public Sub DeleteShapesFromPage3()
Dim doc As Document
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 99 Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Pages(3).Shapes.All.Delete End Sub
Deleting pages You can delete a page by using its Delete method, as in the following VBA example: ActivePage.Delete The Page.Delete method deletes all shapes on that page, deletes the page from the Pages collection for that document, and then updates that collection to reflect the change. If you want to delete more than one page, you must use the Delete method for each unwanted page. However, you cannot delete all pages in a document. You can avoid trying to delete the last remaining page in a document by using the following VBA code: If ActiveDocument.Pages.Count > 1 Then ActivePage.Delete If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deleting a page: • Document.PageDelete
Working with layers Layers are invisible planes that let you organize the objects on a page. You can group related objects into layers, and you can change the vertical order (or “stacking order”) of those layers to change the appearance of the page. Master layers apply to all pages in a document, while local layers apply to a single page. Each layer, or Layer object, is a member of the Page.Layers collection for the page on which it appears. The layers in a Page.Layers collection appear in the order in which they appear on that page — the first layer is the one at the top of the “stack,” and the last layer is the one at the bottom. If layers are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Page.Layers collection is immediately updated to reflect the new layer order of that page. CorelDRAW provide a number of properties, methods, and events for working with layers, the most useful of which are listed in the following table.
Class Member Description
Document ActiveLayer property Provides direct access to the active layer for a document For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102.
Document LayerActivate event Is triggered when a layer is activated For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102.
Document LayerChange event Is triggered when a layer is deactivated For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102.
Document LayerCreate event Is triggered when a layer is created For more information, see “Creating layers” on page 102.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 100 Class Member Description
Document LayerDelete event Is triggered when a layer is deleted For more information, see “Deleting layers” on page 104.
Layer Activate method Activates a layer For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102.
Layer Delete method Deletes a layer For more information, see “Deleting layers” on page 104.
Layer Editable property Controls whether a layer is editable For information, see “Locking and hiding layers” on page 102.
Layer Import method Imports a file into a layer or For information, see “Importing files into layers” on page 103. ImportEx method
Layer MoveAbove method Moves a layer or For information, see “Reordering layers” on page 103. MoveBelow method
Layer Name property Specifies the name of a layer For information, see “Renaming layers” on page 103.
Layer Visible property Controls whether the contents of a layer are visible For information, see “Locking and hiding layers” on page 102.
Page ActiveLayer property Provides direct access to the active layer for a page For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102.
Page CreateLayer method Inserts a new layer at the top of the list of non-master layers For more information, see “Creating layers” on page 102.
Page Layers property Contains the collection of layers for a page For more information, see “Activating layers” on page 102. For detailed information on any property, method, or event, see “Object Model Reference” section in the Macros Help file for the application.
In this topic For more information on layer-related activities, see the following subtopics: •“Creating layers” on page 102 • “Activating layers” on page 102 • “Locking and hiding layers” on page 102 • “Reordering layers” on page 103 • “Renaming layers” on page 103
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 101 • “Importing files into layers” on page 103 • “Deleting layers” on page 104
Creating layers You can create a layer by using the Page.CreateLayer method. Creating a layer inserts a new layer at the top of the list of non-master layers. The following VBA code creates a new layer called “My New Layer”: ActivePage.CreateLayer "My New Layer" If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by activating a layer: • Document.LayerCreate
Activating layers Each layer is a member of the Page.Layers collection for the page on which it appears. The layers in a Page.Layers collection appear in the order in which they appear on that page — the first layer is the one at the top of the “stack,” and the last layer is the one at the bottom. If layers are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Page.Layers collection is immediately updated to reflect the new layer order of that page. The Document.ActiveLayer property provides direct access to the active layer for a document, while the Page.ActiveLayer property provides direct access to the active layer for a page. You can activate a layer by using the Layer.Activate method: ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Activate Activating a locked layer does not unlock it. Similarly, activating a hidden layer does not make it visible. For information on unlocking and displaying layers, see “Locking and hiding layers” on page 102. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by activating a layer: • Document.LayerActivate You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deactivating a layer: • Document.LayerChange
Locking and hiding layers Layer objects feature the properties Editable and Visible, which control (respectively) whether the layer is editable and whether its contents are visible. Both properties are Boolean. By setting both the properties to Tr u e , you unlock and display the layer for editing. By setting either property to False, however, you lock the layer such that it cannot be edited. The following sample VBA code locks, but displays, the layer on the active page: ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Visible = True ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Editable = False The result of any changes to these properties is immediately displayed in the Object Manager.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 102 The preceding example affects only the active page. You can access the layer settings for a given page by specifying a page from the Document.Pages collection, or by referencing the Document.ActivePage property. To make the changes to all pages in a document, use the Document.MasterPage property: ActiveDocument.MasterPage.Layers("Layer 1").Visible = True For more information on working with pages, see “Working with pages” on page 94.
Reordering layers You can reorder layers by using the following two methods of the Layer class: MoveAbove and MoveBelow. Both methods move the specified layer above or below the layer that is referenced as a parameter. The following VBA code moves the layer called “Layer 1” to immediately below the layer “Guides”: Dim pageLayers As Layers Set pageLayers = ActivePage.Layers pageLayers("Layer 1").MoveBelow pageLayers("Guides") The change is immediately reflected in the Object Manager (although it may be apparent only in the Layer Manager).
Renaming layers You can rename a layer by editing its Name property. The following VBA code renames “Layer 1” as “Layer with a New Name”: ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Name = "Layer with a New Name"
Importing files into layers Files of all supported formats can be imported. Files are imported at the Layer level because each imported object is assigned to a specified layer on a specified page. However, files are exported at the Document level because the range of exported objects can extend over multiple layers and multiple pages (see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89). The Layer class has two file-import methods: Import and ImportEx. The wide selection of supported file formats is due to the vast number of filters that are available to the application. Each filter lets you work with the files from another graphics application. To learn more about working with these filters, see “Working with import filters and export filters” on page 140.
Understanding the Layer.Import method The Layer.Import method provides basic functionality for importing files. The following VBA code imports the file C:\logotype.gif into the active layer at the center of the page: ActiveLayer.Import "C:\logotype.gif" Importing a file selects the contents of that file and deselects any other selected objects in the document. You can therefore reposition or resize the imported objects by getting the document selection:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 103 ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveSelection.SetSize 3, 2 Some file formats can be imported by using one of several filters, so it is important to understand the benefits of each available filter. For example, when importing an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file, you can choose between the EPS filter and the PDF filter. The EPS filter lets you do the following: • import an EPS file as a placeable object that can be printed but not modified • interpret the PostScript portion of the file, so that you can import the original artwork from within the file rather than its low-resolution header To specify which filter to use, you can include the optional parameter Filter, as in the following VBA example: ActiveLayer.Import "C:\map.eps", cdrPSInterpreted
Understanding the Layer.ImportEx method The Layer.ImportEx method provides much better control over the import filter through its optional use of a StructImportOptions object. The following VBA code imports the specified file as a linked file: Dim iFilt As ImportFilter Dim importProps As New StructImportOptions importProps.LinkBitmapExternally = True Set iFilt = ActiveLayer.ImportEx("C:\world-map.epsf", cdrAutoSense, importProps) iFilt.Finish
Deleting layers As previously discussed, each layer is a member of the Page.Layers collection for the page on which it appears. You can delete a layer by calling its Delete method. Deleting a layer removes that layer from the document, taking with it all shapes on that layer on all pages in the document. The following VBA code deletes the layer called “Layer 1”: ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Delete If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deleting a layer: • Document.LayerDelete
Working with shapes Every document is made up of shapes, or Shape objects, which are created by using the drawing tools. Any changes that are made to the properties of a shape — such as by moving the shape, changing its size, or giving it a new fill — are immediately visible to the object model.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 104 The shapes on a document page are stored on layers. Each shape is a member of the Layer.Shapes collection for the layer on which it appears. The shapes in a Layer.Shapes collection appear in the order in which they appear on that layer — the first shape is the one at the top of the “stack,” and the last shape is the one at the bottom. If shapes are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Layer.Shapes collection is immediately updated to reflect the new shape order of that layer. In addition, each document page has a Shapes collection, which contains all Layer.Shapes collections for that page. The first shape in a Page.Shapes collection is the one at the very top of that page, and the last shape is the one at the very bottom. CorelDRAW provide a number of properties, methods, and events for working with shapes, the most useful of which are listed in the following table.
Class Member Description
AddinHook ShapeCreated event Is triggered when a shape is created For more information, see “Creating shapes” on page 115.
Application CreateCurve method Creates a line or a curve “in memory” For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Application SelectionChange event Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see “Deselecting shapes” on page 127.
Application SymbolLibraries property Contains the collection of all external symbol libraries for the application For more information, see “Creating symbols” on page 121.
Color CopyAssign method Copies a color from one shape fill or shape outline to another For more information, see “Working with color” on page 136.
Color Type method Specifies the color model for a shape color For more information, see “Working with color” on page 136.
Curve CreateSubPath method Adds a subpath to a line or a curve For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 105 Class Member Description
Document ClearSelection method Deselects all objects in a document For more information, see “Deselecting shapes” on page 127.
Document Selection method Returns, as a single Shape object, all selected objects in a document For more information, see “Accessing selections directly” on page 125.
Document SelectionChange event Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see “Deselecting shapes” on page 127.
Document SelectionRange property Returns, as a ShapeRange object, all selected objects in a document For more information, see “Accessing copies of selections” on page 126.
Document ShapeChange event Is triggered when a shape is deselected For more information, see “Deselecting shapes” on page 127.
Document ShapeCreate event Is triggered when a shape is created For more information, see “Creating shapes” on page 115.
Document ShapeDelete event Is triggered when a shape is deleted For more information, see “Deleting shapes” on page 140.
Document ShapeDistort event Is triggered when a shape is distorted For more information, see “Applying distortions” on page 138.
Document ShapeMove event Is triggered when a shape is positioned For more information, see “Positioning shapes” on page 131.
Document ShapeTransform event Is triggered when a shape is transformed For more information, see “Transforming shapes” on page 128.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 106 Class Member Description
Document SymbolLibrary property Returns the internal symbol library for a document For more information, see “Creating symbols” on page 121.
Fill ApplyFountainFill method Applies a fountain fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying fountain fills” on page 133.
Fill ApplyHatchFill method Applies a hatch fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying hatch fills” on page 135.
Fill ApplyPatternFill method Applies a pattern fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying pattern fills” on page 134.
Fill ApplyPostScriptFill method Applies a PostScript fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying PostScript fills” on page 134.
Fill ApplyTextureFill method Applies a texture fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying texture fills” on page 134.
Fill ApplyUniformFill method Applies a uniform fill to a shape For more information, see “Applying uniform fills” on page 133.
Fill Fountain property Specifies the fountain-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying fountain fills” on page 133.
Fill Hatch property Specifies the hatch-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying hatch fills” on page 135.
Fill Pattern property Specifies the pattern-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying pattern fills” on page 134.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 107 Class Member Description
Fill PostScriptFill property Specifies the PostScript-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying PostScript fills” on page 134.
Fill Texture property Specifies the texture-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying texture fills” on page 134.
Fill Type property Specifies the type of fill that is applied to a shape For more information, see “Coloring shapes” on page 132.
Fill UniformColor property Specifies the uniform-fill properties for a shape For more information, see “Applying uniform fills” on page 133.
FountainColor Move method Moves a color in the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see “Applying fountain fills” on page 133.
FountainColors Add method Adds a color to the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see “Applying fountain fills” on page 133.
FountainColors Count property Counts the number of colors between the start color and end color in the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see “Applying fountain fills” on page 133.
GlobalMacroStorage SelectionChange event Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see “Deselecting shapes” on page 127.
Layer CreateArtisticText method Creates an artistic-text object on the or specified layer CreateArtisticTextWide method For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 108 Class Member Description
Layer CreateCurve method Creates, on the specified layer, a line or a curve that is created “in memory” by using the Application.CreateCurve method For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Layer CreateCurveSegment method Creates a basic curve on the specified or layer CreateCurveSegment2 method For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Layer CreateEllipse method, Creates an ellipse on the specified layer CreateEllipse2 method, For more information, see “Creating or ellipses” on page 116. CreateEllipseRect method
Layer CreateLineSegment method Creates a basic line on the specified layer For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Layer CreateParagraphText method Creates an paragraph-text object on or the specified layer CreateParagraphTextWide method For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119.
Layer CreateRectangle method, Creates a rectangle on the specified CreateRectangle2 method, layer or For more information, see “Creating CreateRectangleRect method rectangles” on page 115.
Layer Shapes property Contains the collection of shapes for a layer For more information, see “Selecting shapes” on page 124.
Outline Color property Specifies the color of the outline for a shape For more information, see “Applying outlines” on page 135.
Outline Style property Specifies the dash settings (that is, style properties) for the outline of a shape For more information, see “Applying outlines” on page 135.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 109 Class Member Description
Outline Type property Specifies whether an outline is applied to a shape For more information, see “Applying outlines” on page 135.
Outline Width property Specifies, in document units, the width of the outline for a shape For more information, see “Applying outlines” on page 135.
Segment AddNodeAt method Adds a node to a line segment or a curve segment For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Shape CreateBlend method Applies a blend effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying blends” on page 137.
Shape CreateContour method Applies a contour effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying contours” on page 138.
Shape CreateCustomDistortion method Applies a customized distortion effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying distortions” on page 138.
Shape CreateCustomEffect method Applies a customized effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying customized effects” on page 138.
Shape CreateDropShadow method Applies a drop-shadow effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying drop shadows” on page 138.
Shape CreateEnvelope method, Applies an envelope effect to a shape CreateEnvelopeFromCurve method, For more information, see “Applying or envelopes” on page 139. CreateEnvelopeFromShape method
Shape CreateExtrude method Applies an extrusion effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying extrusions” on page 139.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 110 Class Member Description
Shape CreateLens method Applies a lens effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying lenses” on page 139.
Shape CreatePerspective method Applies a perspective effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying perspective” on page 139.
Shape CreatePushPullDistortion method Applies a Push-and-pull distortion effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying distortions” on page 138.
Shape CreateSelection method Creates a selection from a single shape For more information, see “Selecting shapes” on page 124.
Shape CreateTwisterDistortion method Applies a Twister distortion effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying distortions” on page 138.
Shape CreateZipperDistortion method Applies a Zipper distortion effect to a shape For more information, see “Applying distortions” on page 138.
Shape Duplicate method Duplicates a shape For more information, see “Duplicating shapes” on page 128.
Shape Evaluate method Returns the result of a given expression that evaluates the properties of the current shape For more information, see “Searching for shapes” on page 139.
Shape GetBoundingBox method Returns the size of a shape based on the size of its bounding box For more information, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128.
Shape GetPosition method Returns the horizontal and vertical position of a shape For more information, see “Positioning shapes” on page 131.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 111 Class Member Description
Shape GetSize method Returns the size of a shape For more information, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128.
Shape PlaceTextInside method Places the selected text inside the specified shape For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119.
Shape PositionX property Returns, or sets, the horizontal position of a shape For more information, see “Positioning shapes” on page 131.
Shape PositionY property Returns, or sets, the vertical position of a shape For more information, see “Positioning shapes” on page 131.
Shape Rotate method Rotates a shape or For more information, see “Rotating RotateEx method shapes” on page 131.
Shape Selected method Specifies whether a shape is selected For more information, see “Selecting shapes” on page 124.
Shape SetBoundingBox method Sets the size of a shape based on the size of its bounding box For more information, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128.
Shape SetPosition method Sets the position of a shape or For more information, see “Positioning SetPositionEx method shapes” on page 131.
Shape SetSize method Sets the size of a shape or For more information, see “Sizing SetSizeEx method shapes” on page 128.
Shape SizeHeight property Returns, or sets, the height of a shape For more information, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 112 Class Member Description
Shape SizeWidth property Returns, or sets, the width of a shape For more information, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128.
Shape Skew method Skews a shape or For more information, see “Skewing SkewEx method shapes” on page 130.
Shape Stretch method Stretches (or scales) a shape or For more information, see “Stretching StretchEx method shapes” on page 130.
Shape Type property Returns the type for a shape For more information, see “Determining shape type” on page 124.
ShapeRange CreateSelection method Creates a selection from a range of shapes For more information, see “Selecting shapes” on page 124.
ShapeRange Duplicate method Duplicates a range of shapes For more information, see “Duplicating shapes” on page 128.
Shapes All method Returns all shapes from the specified collection of shapes For more information, see “Selecting shapes” on page 124.
Shapes FindShape method Returns a single shape that has the specified properties For more information, see “Searching for shapes” on page 139.
Shapes FindShapes method Returns, as a shape range, all shapes that have the specified properties For more information, see “Searching for shapes” on page 139.
SubPath AppendCurveSegment method Adds a curve-type segment to a or subpath AppendCurveSegment2 method For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 113 Class Member Description
SubPath AppendLineSegment method Adds a line-type segment to a subpath For more information, see “Creating lines and curves” on page 117.
Symbol Definition property Returns the definition of a symbol For more information, see “Creating symbols” on page 121.
SymbolDefinition NestedSymbols property Contains the collection of all nested symbols for a symbol definition For more information, see “Creating symbols” on page 121.
SymbolLibrary Symbols property Contains the collection of all symbol definitions for a symbol library For more information, see “Creating symbols” on page 121.
Te x t F i t Te x t To Pa t h method Attaches the specified artistic text to the outline of a shape For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119.
Te x t Fr a m e s property Represents a series of text frames (or Te x t Fr a m e objects), each of which has its own text range (or Te x t R a n g e object) For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119.
Te x t S t o r y property Represents a text range (or Te x t R a n g e object) that includes all text in a series of text frames (or TextFram e objects) For more information, see “Creating text objects” on page 119. For detailed information on any property, method, or event, see “Object Model Reference” section in the Macros Help file for the application.
In this topic For more information on shape-related activities, see the following subtopics: • “Creating shapes” on page 115 • “Determining shape type” on page 124 • “Selecting shapes” on page 124 • “Duplicating shapes” on page 128
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 114 • “Transforming shapes” on page 128 • “Coloring shapes” on page 132 • “Applying effects to shapes” on page 137 • “Searching for shapes” on page 139 • “Deleting shapes” on page 140
Creating shapes Every document is made up of shapes, or Shape objects, which are created by using the drawing tools. The shapes on a document page are stored on layers, so the various shape-creation methods belong to the Layer class. For information on creating specific types of shapes, see the following subtopics: • “Creating rectangles” on page 115 • “Creating ellipses” on page 116 • “Creating lines and curves” on page 117 • “Creating text objects” on page 119 • “Creating symbols” on page 121 Supported shapes not discussed in this section include polygons (or Polygon objects) and customized shapes (or CustomShape objects). Customized shapes that are supported include tables (or TableShape objects). Shapes are measured in document units. You can specify the unit of measurement for a document by using the Document.Unit property (see “Setting document properties” on page 85). If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by creating a shape: • AddinHook.ShapeCreated • Document.ShapeCreate
Creating rectangles You can add rectangles (or Rectangle objects) to your documents by using one of the following methods: • Layer.CreateRectangle • Layer.CreateRectangle2 • Layer.CreateRectangleRect These methods return a reference to the new Shape object. They differ only in the parameters that they take, so you can choose the method that best suits your macro solution. You can also use these rectangle-creation methods to create squares. The CreateRectangle method creates a rectangle by using four parameters that specify the following: • the distance between the left, top, right, and bottom sides of the rectangle (in that order) • the corresponding edges of the page frame The following VBA example uses the CreateRectangle method to create a 2" × 1" rectangle that is positioned 6" up from the bottom of the page frame and 3" in from the left side of the page frame: Dim sh As Shape
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 115 ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(3, 7, 6, 5) The CreateRectangle2 method creates a rectangle based on the coordinates of its lower-left corner, its width, and its height. The following VBA example uses the CreateRectangle2 method to create the same rectangle as the previous example: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(3, 6, 2, 1) Finally, the CreateRectangleRect method creates a rectangle based on its bounding box (or Rect object). These three rectangle-creation methods provide optional parameters for specifying corner roundness. The CreateRectangle method specifies corner roundness by using parameters for the upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower-right corners (in that order). These parameters take integer values (which range from the default 0 to 100) that define the radius of the four corners as a whole-number percentage of half of the length of the shortest side. The following VBA example re-creates the 2" × 1" rectangle from the previous examples. However, this time, the four corner radii are set to 100%, 75%, 50%, and 0% of half of the length of the shortest side (that is, to 0.5", 0.375", 0.25", and a cusp): Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(3, 7, 6, 5, 100, 75, 50, 0) The CreateRectangle2 method and the CreateRectangleRect method define the corner radii in the same order as the CreateRectangle method (that is, upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower-right). However, CreateRectangle2 and CreateRectangleRect take double (floating-point) values that measure the corner radii in document units. When using CreateRectangle2 or CreateRectangleRect, you must limit the size of the corner radii to less than half of the length of the shortest side of the rectangle. The following VBA example uses the CreateRectangle2 method to create the same round-cornered rectangle as the previous example: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(3, 6, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.375, 0.25, _ 0)
Creating ellipses You can add ellipses (or Ellipse objects) to your documents by using one of the following methods: • Layer.CreateEllipse
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 116 • Layer.CreateEllipse2 • Layer.CreateEllipseRect These methods return a reference to the new Shape object. They differ only in the parameters that they take, so you can choose the method that best suits your macro solution. You can also use the ellipse-creation methods to create circles, arcs, and pie shapes. The CreateEllipse method creates an ellipse by using four parameters that specify the following: • the distance between the left, top, right, and bottom sides of the ellipse (in that order) • the corresponding edges of the page frame The following VBA example creates a 50-millimeter circle: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(75, 150, 125, 100) The CreateEllipse2 method creates an ellipse based on its center point, its horizontal radius, and its vertical radius. (If only one radius is given, a circle is created.) The following VBA example uses the CreateEllipse2 method to create an ellipse: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(100, 125, 50, 25) The following VBA example uses the CreateEllipse2 method to create the same 50-millimeter circle as the CreateEllipse example: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(100, 125, 25) Finally, the CreateEllipseRect method creates an ellipse based on its bounding box (or Rect object). These three ellipse-creation methods provide three optional parameters for creating an arc or a pie shape. The StartAngle and EndAngle parameters — which are double values that are measured with zero being horizontally right on the page and with positive values being degrees from zero and moving counterclockwise — are used to define the start angle and end angle of the shape (respectively). In addition, the Pie parameter — which is a Boolean value — defines whether the shape is an arc (False) or a pie shape (Tr u e). The following VBA code uses the CreateEllipse method to create a “C” shape: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(75, 150, 125, 100, 60, 290, False)
Creating lines and curves You can add lines and curves (or Curve objects) to your documents. To create a line or a curve, you must first create a Curve object “in memory” by using the Application.CreateCurve method.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 117 Each Curve object has at least one subpath (or SubPath object). You can add a subpath to a line or a curve by using the Curve.CreateSubPath method. Each SubPath object has at least one segment (or Segment object), which can be line-type or curve-type. You can add a line-type segment to the end of a subpath by using the SubPath.AppendLineSegment method; you can add a curve-type segment by using the SubPath.AppendCurveSegment method or the SubPath.AppendCurveSegment2 method. The SubPath.AppendLineSegment method requires one set of Cartesian coordinates, which defines the end of the new segment. The SubPath.AppendCurveSegment method requires one set of Cartesian coordinates, which defines the end of the new segment. Optionally, you can specify two sets of polar coordinates if you want to define the lengths and angles of the starting and ending control handles for the segment. The SubPath.AppendCurveSegment2 method requires three sets of Cartesian coordinates: one to define the end of the new segment, and two to define the positions of the starting and ending control handles for the segment. You can add a segment to the beginning of a subpath by setting the AppendAtBeginning parameter for the segment-creation method to Tr u e . Finally, each Segment object has at least one node (or Node object). You can add a node to a segment by using the Segment.AddNodeAt method. You can close a Curve object by setting its Closed property to Tr u e. After creating a curve “in memory,” you can apply it to a layer by using the Layer.CreateCurve method. A reference to the new Shape object is returned. The following VBA code creates a D-shaped curve that is closed: Dim sh As Shape, spath As SubPath, crv As Curve ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrCentimeter Set crv = Application.CreateCurve(ActiveDocument) 'Create Curve object Set spath = crv.CreateSubPath(6, 6) ' Create a SubPath spath.AppendLineSegment 6, 3 ' Add the short vertical segment spath.AppendCurveSegment 3, 0, 2, 270, 2, 0 ' Lower curve spath.AppendLineSegment 0, 0 ' Bottom straight edge spath.AppendLineSegment 0, 9 ' Left straight edge spath.AppendLineSegment 3, 9 ' Top straight edge spath.AppendCurveSegment 6, 6, 2, 0, 2, 90 ' Upper curve spath.Closed = True ' Close the curve Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateCurve(crv) ' Create curve shape The Layer class provides three additional methods that act as shortcuts for creating a basic line or basic curve that has a single segment on a single subpath:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 118 • Layer.CreateLineSegment — creates a basic line based on the given starting point and ending point • Layer.CreateCurveSegment — creates a basic curve based on the given starting point and ending point and, optionally, on the lengths and angles of the starting and ending control handles for the curve • Layer.CreateCurveSegment2 — creates a basic curve based on the given starting point and ending point and on the given positions of the starting and ending control handles for the curve These three methods return a reference to the new Shape object.
Creating text objects You can add text (or Te x t objects) to your documents. Two types of text are supported: artistic text and paragraph text. An artistic-text object is a short line of text to which you can apply graphical effects. In contrast, a paragraph-text object is a large block of text — stored in a rectangular container called a “frame” — to which you can apply more complex formatting. To create an artistic-text object, you can use one of the following methods: • Layer.CreateArtisticText — creates basic artistic text • Layer.CreateArtisticTextWide — creates artistic text that is in Unicode format Both of these methods require you to specify the position and content of the artistic-text object. Optionally, both of these methods let you set such text attributes as font style, font size, formatting, and alignment. In addition, both of these methods return a reference to the new Shape object. The following VBA code uses the CreateArtisticText method to create a basic artistic-text object that places the words “Hello World” at the specified position: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateArtisticText(1, 4, "Hello World") You can fit artistic text to a path by using the Te x t . F i t Tex t To Pat h method, which simply attaches the text to the outline of a shape such that the text flows along the path of that shape. The following VBA code creates a new artistic-text object and attaches it to the selected shape: Dim sh As Shape, sPath As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sPath = ActiveShape Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateArtisticText(1, 4, "Hello World") sh.Text.FitToPath sPath To create a paragraph-text object, you can use one of the following methods: • Layer.CreateParagraphText — creates basic paragraph text • Layer.CreateParagraphTextWide — creates paragraph text that is in Unicode format Both of these methods require you to specify the size of the paragraph-text frame by setting its position from the left, top, right, and bottom sides of the page frame (in that order). Optionally, both of these methods let you specify the desired text and set such text attributes as font style, font size, formatting, and alignment. In addition, both of these methods return a reference to the new Shape object.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 119 The following VBA code uses the CreateParagraphText method to create a basic paragraph-text object that centers the words “Hi There” in a frame of the specified size: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateParagraphText(1, 4, 5, 2, "Hi There", _ Alignment := cdrCenterAlignment) You can format existing paragraph text by using text ranges (or Tex t R a n g e objects). Text ranges are handled in two ways, both of which involve frames (or Te x t Fr a m e objects): • “frames” method — The Tex t . Fr a m e s property represents a series of text frames, each of which has its own text range. •“story” method — The Te x t . S t o r y property represents a text range that includes all text in a series of text frames. A text range can be treated as a single block of text, such that any changes to text properties (such as font style and font size) are applied to all text in that text range. Alternatively, a text range can be broken down into the following smaller text ranges: •columns (or Te x t C o l u m n s objects) • paragraphs (or Te x t Pa r a g r a p h s objects) •lines (or TextLines objects) • words (or Te x t Wo r ds objects) • characters (or TextCharacters objects) The object model supports all paragraph-formatting options and character-formatting options that are offered by the application. The following VBA code formats the specified text range by using the Te x t . S t o r y property. The first paragraph of the story is changed to a heading style and the second and third paragraphs into a body-text style: Dim txt As TextRange ' Format the first paragraph Set txt = ActiveShape.Text.Story.Paragraphs(1) txt.ChangeCase cdrTextUpperCase txt.Font = "Verdana" txt.Size = 18 txt.Bold = True ' Format the second and third paragraphs Set txt = ActiveShape.Text.Story.Paragraphs(2, 2) txt.Font = "Times New Roman" txt.Size = 12 txt.Style = cdrNormalFontStyle You can place selected text inside closed shapes by using the Shape.PlaceTextInside method.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 120 The following VBA code creates a 5" × 2" ellipse and places the selected text inside it: Dim txt As Shape, sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch Set txt = ActiveShape Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(0, 2, 5, 0)
sh.PlaceTextInside txt
Creating symbols A symbol (or Symbol object) is a reusable graphic element that is defined in a symbol library. Using symbols in your documents provides the following benefits: • lower file-size — Each symbol is defined only once, regardless of how many actual instances of that symbol appear in the document. • increased productivity — Any changes made to a symbol definition are automatically propagated to all instances of that symbol in the document. • improved workflow — Symbol libraries are a convenient way to store and reuse common graphic elements. Symbol libraries come in two varieties: external and internal. External symbol libraries use the filename extension CSL and contain symbol definitions that must be manually added to the workspace at the application level. You cannot modify a symbol that is defined in an external library unless you open the associated external library (CSL) file; simply importing the file as a library does not let you modify its contents. External symbol libraries must be published to a location that all users can access. A common mapped drive is a good solution, but a corporate intranet is a better one. However, if the security of the symbols is not important, the best solution is a corporate Internet site. Internal symbol libraries exist at the document level. Defining a new symbol in a document — or adding an instance of an external-library symbol to a document — automatically adds that symbol to the internal library for that document. For this reason, each document has its own unique internal symbol library. Inserting an instance of a symbol from an external symbol library creates a link to the definition for that symbol in that external symbol library. If, at any point, the document cannot access the external symbol library, the symbol definition in the internal symbol library for that document is used instead. The Application.SymbolLibraries property contains the collection of all external symbol libraries (or SymbolLibrary objects) that are available to the application; the Document.SymbolLibrary property returns just the internal symbol library for that document. The SymbolLibrary.Symbols property contains the collection of all symbol definitions (or SymbolDefinition objects) in that symbol library. A SymbolDefinition object is also returned by the Symbol.Defintion property; therefore, you can modify the defintion of a symbol by using the various properties and methods of the SymbolDefinition class. To remove a symbol definition from the internal symbol library for a document, you must delete all instances of the symbol from the document and then run the SymbolLibrary.PurgeUnusedSymbols method. Simply removing all instances of a symbol from a document does not automatically remove its symbol definition from the internal symbol library for that document. The following VBA code demonstrates the basics of using symbols:
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 121 Sub AddRemoveSymbols() Dim objSymLibSwitchA As SymbolLibrary Dim shpSymBreaker2 As Shape, shpSymBreaker2A As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter 'Add the switchesA external symbol library to the global 'workspace. Set objSymLibSwitchA = SymbolLibraries.Add _ ("C:\libs\switches\switchesA.csl") 'Add the breaker2 symbol to the active layer. 'NOTE: This automatically adds the symbol definition to the 'internal symbol library for the document. Set shpSymBreaker2 = ActiveLayer.CreateSymbol(15, 20, _ "breaker2", SymbolLibraries("switchesA")) 'Add another instance of the breaker2 symbol, this time from the 'internal symbol library. NOTE: We did not specify a library, so 'the library for the local document is used by default. Set shpSymBreaker2A = ActiveLayer.CreateSymbol(30, 20, _ "breaker2") 'Remove the switchesA library from the global workspace. SymbolLibraries("switchesA").Delete 'Delete the two breaker2 symbols. shpSymBreaker2.Delete shpSymBreaker2A.Delete 'At this point, the internal symbol library for the document 'still has the definition of breaker2 stored. To remove this 'definition, we must purge the unused symbols from the library. 'The definition is unused because there are no instances that 'reference it. ActiveDocument.SymbolLibrary.PurgeUnusedSymbols End Sub A symbol can contain (or “nest”) other symbols. A top-level symbol can contain symbols, and each of those symbols can contain a symbol, and so forth. In the object model, the SymbolDefinition.NestedSymbols property returns (as a SymbolDefinitions object) the collection of nested symbols for a symbol definition. While there is no restriction on how many nesting levels can be created, the symbol cannot be rendered without access
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 122 to its symbol definition (whether external or internal). In addition, even if the first and second nesting layers of a symbol are rendered correctly, a symbol on the third nesting layer may not be rendered correctly without access to its required symbol definition.
Symbols and nested symbols The following VBA code demonstrates the basics of using nested symbols: Sub MakeNestedSymbol() Dim shp1 As Shape, shp2 As Shape, shp3 As Shape, shpSym As Shape Dim shpRng As New ShapeRange 'Create a pair of rectangles and a circle. Set shp1 = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(0, 0, 10, 20) Set shp2 = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(50, 50, 20 ,10) Set shp3 = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(10, 10, 20) 'Make a symbol out of the circle. NOTE: This circle is 'automatically added to the internal symbol library for the 'document. Set shpSym = shp3.ConvertToSymbol("circle") 'Add the rectangles and the circle symbol to a shape range. shpRng.Add shp1 shpRng.Add shp2 shpRng.Add shpSym 'Convert the shape range into a symbol. NOTE: This symbol is 'added to the internal symbol library for the document. It is
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 123 'also is a nested symbol because it contains the symbol circle. shpRng.ConvertToSymbol "shapes" End Sub
Determining shape type Each Shape object has a read-only Ty p e property, which returns the shape type (for example, rectangle, ellipse, curve, text, or group). The properties and methods that are available to a shape vary with shape type; therefore, it’s a good idea to determine the shape type before applying any properties or methods to that shape. The following sample VBA code determines whether a shape is text. If the shape is text, the code determines whether it is artistic text or paragraph text. If the shape is artistic text, it is rotated by 10 degrees. Dim sh As Shape Set sh = ActiveShape If sh.Type = cdrTextShape Then If sh.Text.IsArtisticText = True Then sh.Rotate 10 End If End If
Selecting shapes Each shape is a member of the Layer.Shapes collection for the layer on which it appears. The shapes in a Layer.Shapes collection appear in the order in which they appear on that layer — the first shape is the one at the top of the “stack,” and the last shape is the one at the bottom. If shapes are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Layer.Shapes collection is immediately updated to reflect the new shape order of that layer. In addition, each document page has a Shapes collection, which contains all Layer.Shapes collections for that page. The first shape in a Page.Shapes collection is the one at the very top of that page, and the last shape is the one at the very bottom. If you want to access individual shapes, you can select them. When you select shapes, you create a “selection” that contains only those shapes. The Shape.Selected property takes a Boolean value that indicates whether a shape is selected: Tr u e if the shape is selected, False otherwise. You can select a shape by changing the value of its Selected property to Tr u e; this technique adds the shape to the current selection — that is, rather than creating a new selection that contains only that shape. If you want to create a new selection from a shape — that is, by selecting a specified shape and deselecting any other selected shapes — you can use the Shape.CreateSelection method, as in the following VBA example: Dim sh As Shape Set sh = ActivePage.Shapes(1) If sh.Selected = False Then sh.CreateSelection
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 124 You can select multiple shapes by using the ShapeRange.CreateSelection method. The following VBA code uses this method — in combination with the Shapes.All method — to select all shapes on the active page (except those on locked or hidden layers): ActivePage.Shapes.All.CreateSelection You can access a selection in one of two ways: •Use the Document.Selection method to return a special Shape object that contains the actual selection. This Shape object is automatically refreshed when the selection is updated. •Use the Document.SelectionRange property to return a ShapeRange object that contains a copy of the selection. This ShapeRange object represents a “snapshot” of the selection (at the time when the ShapeRange object was created), so it is not automatically refreshed when the selection is updated. To summarize, you can access a selection directly, or you can access a copy of that selection; alternatively, you can access a subset of the shapes in a selection. You can also reorder the shapes in a selection. When you no longer require a selection, you can deselect one or all of its shapes. For more information on selecting shapes, see the following subtopics: • “Accessing selections directly” on page 125 • “Accessing copies of selections” on page 126 • “Accessing the shapes in a selection” on page 127 • “Reordering the shapes in a selection” on page 127 • “Deselecting shapes” on page 127
Accessing selections directly As previously discussed, you can use the Document.Selection method to access the contents of a selection directly. A Shape object is returned, and this Shape object is updated to reflect any changes made to the selection. The following VBA code returns the selection for the active document: Dim sel As Shape Set sel = ActiveDocument.Selection
The shortcut for ActiveDocument.Selection is ActiveSelection, which returns a Shape object of subtype cdrSelectionShape. The Shape subtype has a member collection called Shapes, which represents a collection of all the selected shapes in the document. The shapes in the ActiveSelection.Shapes collection can be accessed as in the following VBA example: Dim sh As Shape, shs As Shapes Set shs = ActiveSelection.Shapes For Each sh In shs sh.Rotate 15 'Rotate each shape by 15 degrees counterclockwise Next sh
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 125 After you use the ActiveSelection command to select shapes, you cannot subsequently use the command to access those shapes. Instead, you must create a copy of the selection by using one of the following methods: • Recreate the selection as an array of Shape objects. • Recreate the selection as a Shapes collection. • Create a “snapshot” of the selection as a ShapeRange object (see “Accessing copies of selections” on page 126).
Accessing copies of selections As previously discussed, you can use the Document.SelectionRange property to make a copy of the shapes in a selection. However, the returned ShapeRange object is not refreshed when the selection is updated because it represents a “snapshot” of the selection at the moment when that ShapeRange object was created. The following VBA code returns a copy of the selection for the active document: Dim selRange As ShapeRange Set selRange = ActiveDocument.SelectionRange
The shortcut for the ActiveDocument.SelectionRange command is ActiveSelectionRange, which returns a ShapeRange object. This object contains a collection of references to the shapes that were selected at the moment when the property was invoked. The shapes in the ActiveSelectionRange collection can be accessed as in the following VBA example: Dim sh As Shape, shRange As ShapeRange Set shRange = ActiveSelectionRange For Each sh In shRange sh.Skew 15 ' Skew each shape thru 15° counterclockwise Next sh
After you use the ActiveSelectionRange command to create a copy of the current document selection, you can subsequently access the returned ShapeRange object to access any of its shapes. You can even add shapes to or remove shapes from the returned ShapeRange object. You can then use the ShapeRange.CreateSelection method if you want to replace the current selection with the modified ShapeRange object. The following VBA code creates a ShapeRange object from the current document selection, removes the first and second shapes from that shape range, and then replaces the original selection with this modified ShapeRange object: Dim shRange As ShapeRange Set shRange = ActiveSelectionRange shRange.Remove 1 shRange.Remove 2 shRange.CreateSelection If you want to add a specified ShapeRange object to the current selection (rather than use it to replace the current selection), you can use the ShapeRange.AddToSelection method.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 126 Accessing the shapes in a selection You can use a similar process for accessing the shapes in a selection as you can for accessing the shapes in a selection range. Here is a a VBA code sample for accessing the shapes in a selection: Dim shs As Shapes, sh As Shape Set shs = ActiveSelection.Shapes For Each sh In shs ' Do something with the shape, sh Next sh Here is a VBA code sample for accessing the shapes in a selection range: Dim sRange As ShapeRange, sh As Shape Set sRange = ActiveSelectionRange For Each sh In sRange ' Do something with the shape, sh Next sh
Remember that the ActiveSelection.Shapes command provides direct access to the current selection, while the ActiveSelectionRange command provides a copy of the current selection. Use ActiveSelection.Shapes if you want to access the current selection; use ActiveSelectionRange if you want to create a “snapshot” of the current selection that you can access later.
Reordering the shapes in a selection
The ActiveSelection.Shapes command and the ActiveSelectionRange command return shapes in the reverse order from which they were selected: the first shape is the last one selected, and the last shape is the first one selected. Please keep this fact in mind when reordering the shapes in a selection.
Deselecting shapes You can deselect any shape by changing the value of its Shape.Selected property to False. You can deselect all shapes by using the Document.ClearSelection method. The following VBA code uses the ClearSelection method to deselect all shapes in the active document: ActiveDocument.ClearSelection If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deseleting a shape: • Document.ShapeChange You can also use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deactivating a selection: • Application.SelectionChange • Document.SelectionChange • GlobalMacroStorage.SelectionChange
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 127 Duplicating shapes You can use the Shape.Duplicate method to duplicate a shape, and you can use the ShapeRange.Duplicate method to duplicate a range of shapes. ActiveSelection.Duplicate The Duplicate method provides two optional parameters, OffsetX and OffsetY, which offset the duplicate from the original (horizontally and vertically, respectively). The following VBA code positions the duplicate two inches to the right and one inch above the original: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveSelection.Duplicate 2, 1
Transforming shapes You can transform shapes in various ways, as explained in the following topics: • “Sizing shapes” on page 128 • “Stretching shapes” on page 130 • “Skewing shapes” on page 130 • “Rotating shapes” on page 131 • “Positioning shapes” on page 131 If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by transforming a shape: • Document.ShapeTransform
Sizing shapes You can return the width and height of a shape (in document units) by using the Shape.SizeWidth and Shape.SizeHeight properties, as in the following VBA example: Dim width As Double, height As Double ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter width = ActiveShape.SizeWidth height = ActiveShape.SizeHeight You can also use the Shape.SizeWidth and Shape.SizeHeight properties to resize an existing shape by specifying new values for those properties. The following VBA example uses these properties to set the size of the active shape to a width of 50 millimeters and a height of 70 millimeters: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveShape.SizeWidth = 50 ActiveShape.SizeHeight = 70 You can return both the width and the height of a shape (in document units) by using the Shape.GetSize method, as in the following VBA example: Dim width As Double, height As Double
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveShape.GetSize width, height
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 128 You can resize a shape by using the Shape.SetSize method to specify a new width and new height for it, as in the following VBA example: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveShape.SetSize 50, 70 You can also resize a shape by using the Shape.SetSizeEx method. Besides the new width and new height for the shape, this method takes a reference point for the resize (instead of using the center point of the shape). The following VBA code uses the SetSizeEx method to resize the current selection to 10 inches wide by 8 inches high about the reference point (6, 5) in the document: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveSelection.SetSizeEx 6, 5, 10, 8 If you want to take the outline of a shape into account when returning the size of that shape, you must use the Shape.GetBoundingBox method. The bounding box for a shape surrounds both the shape and its outline; however, the actual dimensions of a shape specify its width and height irrespective of the size of its outline. The following VBA example uses the GetBoundingBox method to return the size of the active shape: Dim width As Double, height As Double Dim posX As Double, posY As Double ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft ActiveShape.GetBoundingBox posX, posY, width, height, True The Shape.GetBoundingBox method takes parameters that specify the position of the lower-left corner of the shape, the width of the shape, and the height of the shape. The final parameter is a Boolean value that indicates whether to include (Tr u e) or exclude (False) the outline of the shape. The Shape.SetBoundingBox method lets you set the size of a shape by specifying the size of its bounding box; however, this method lacks the parameter for specifying whether to include the outline in the new size. If you want to calculate the size and position of the bounding box of a shape without including its outline, you can use the GetBoundingBox method twice (once including the outline and once excluding it), as in the following VBA example: Public Sub SetBoundingBoxEx(X As Double, Y As Double, _ Width As Double, Height As Double) Dim sh As Shape Dim nowX As Double, nowY As Double Dim nowWidth As Double, nowHeight As Double Dim nowXol As Double, nowYol As Double Dim nowWidthol As Double, nowHeightol As Double Dim newX As Double, newY As Double Dim newWidth As Double, newHeight As Double Dim ratioWidth As Double, ratioHeight As Double
Set sh = ActiveSelection
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 129 sh.GetBoundingBox nowX, nowY, nowWidth, nowHeight, False sh.GetBoundingBox nowXol, nowYol, nowWidthol, nowHeightol, True ratioWidth = Width / nowWidthol ratioHeight = Height / nowHeightol newWidth = nowWidth * ratioWidth newHeight = nowHeight * ratioHeight newX = X + (nowX - nowXol) newY = Y + (nowY - nowYol) sh.SetBoundingBox newX, newY, newWidth, newHeight, False, _ cdrBottomLeft End Sub
Stretching shapes You can stretch a shape (or scale it by stretching is proportionately) by using the Shape.Stretch method or the Shape.StretchEx method. Both methods take a decimal value for the stretch, where 1 is 100% (or no change); you cannot use zero, so you must use a very small value instead. The following VBA code uses the Shape.Stretch method to stretch the selection to half its current height and twice its width, about the midpoint of the bottom edge of its bounding box: ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomMiddle ActiveSelection.Stretch 2, 0.5 If you want to specify the reference point about which to perform a stretch, you can use the Shape.StretchEx method. The following VBA code performs the same stretch as the previous code, but it performs that stretch about the point (4, 5) on the page (in inches): ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveSelection.StretchEx 4, 5, 2, 0.5 The Shape.Stretch and Shape.StretchEx methods provide an optional Boolean parameter that determines how to stretch paragraph text. A value of Tr u e stretches the characters, while False stretches the bounding box and re-flows the text within it.
Skewing shapes You can skew a shape by using the Shape.Skew method or the Shape.SkewEx method. These methods let you specify the horizontal-skew angle (in degrees, where positive values move the top edge to the left and the bottom edge to the right) and the vertical-skew angle (in degrees, where positive values move the right edge upwards and the left edge downwards). Skews of angles close to or greater than 90° are not allowed. The horizontal skew is applied before the vertical skew. The difference between the Shape.Skew and Shape.SkewEx methods is the point about which the skew is performed: Skew uses the center of rotation for the shape, while SkewEx uses the specified reference point.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 130 You can determine the center of rotation for a shape by returning the values of its Shape.RotationCenterX and Shape.RotationCenterY properties. Changing these values moves the center of rotation for that shape. The following VBA code uses the Shape.Skew method to skew the selection (about its center of rotation) by 30° horizontally and by 15° vertically: ActiveSelection.Skew 30, 15
Rotating shapes You can rotate a shape by using the Shape.Rotate method or the Shape.RotateEx method. These methods rotate the shape by the given angle (in degrees). However, the difference between these methods is the point about which they perform the rotation: Rotate uses the center of rotation for the shape, while RotateEx uses the specified reference point. You can determine the center of rotation for a shape by returning the values of its Shape.RotationCenterX and Shape.RotationCenterY properties. Changing these values moves the center of rotation for that shape. The following VBA code uses the Shape.Rotate method to rotate the selection (about its center of rotation) by 30°: ActiveSelection.Rotate 30 The following VBA code uses the Shape.RotateEx method to rotate each selected shape by 15° clockwise about its lower-right corner: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomRight For Each sh In ActiveSelection.Shapes sh.RotateEx -15, sh.PositionX, sh.PositionY Next sh
Positioning shapes You can return the horizontal and vertical position of a shape by using the Shape.PositionX and Shape.PositionY properties (respectively). Alternatively, you can use the Shape.GetPosition method to return both the horizontal position and the vertical position of a shape. You can use the Shape.GetBoundingBox method if you want to return the position of a shape, including its outline. For more information on this method, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128. The following VBA code uses the Shape.GetPosition method to return the position of the selection relative to the current reference point of the active document, which the code explicitly sets to the lower-left corner: Dim posX As Double, posY As Double ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft ActiveSelection.GetPosition posX, posY
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 131 You can also use the Shape.PositionX and Shape.PositionY properties to set the horizontal and vertical position of a shape (respectively), thereby moving that shape to the specified position. Alternatively, you can use the Shape.SetPosition method to move a shape to specified horizontal and vertical position, or you can use the Shape.SetPositionEx method to move the shape to a specified point. You can also use the Shape.SetSizeEx and Shape.SetBoundingBox methods to set the position of a shape. For more information on these methods, see “Sizing shapes” on page 128. The following VBA code uses the Shape.SetPosition method to set the position of the lower-right corner of each selected shape in the active document to (3, 2) in inches: Dim sh As Shape ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomRight For Each sh In ActiveSelection.Shapes sh.SetPosition 3, 2 Next sh If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by positioning a shape: •Document.ShapeMove
Coloring shapes You can add color to a shape by applying a fill (or Fill object) to it. The fill type for a shape is recorded by the Fill.Type property as one of the following constants for the cdrFillType enumeration: • cdrUniformFill — uniform fill • cdrFountainFill — fountain fill • cdrPatternFill — pattern fill • cdrTextureFill — texture fill • cdrPostScriptFill — PostScript fill • cdrHatchFill — hatch fill • cdrNoFill — no fill The following VBA code returns the type of fill that is applied to the active shape: Dim fillType As cdrFillType fillType = ActiveShape.Fill.Type You cannot change the fill type for a shape by modifying its Fill.Type property. Instead, you must use the appropriate Fill.Apply...Fill method, as described in the subsections that follow. You can also add color to a shape by applying an outline (or Outline object) to it. In addition, the object model provides a variety of properties and methods for working with the colors (or Color objects) that you apply to shapes. For information on applying fills and outlines and on working with colors, see the following subtopics: • “Applying uniform fills” on page 133
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 132 • “Applying fountain fills” on page 133 • “Applying pattern fills” on page 134 • “Applying texture fills” on page 134 • “Applying PostScript fills” on page 134 • “Applying hatch fills” on page 135 • “Applying outlines” on page 135 • “Working with color” on page 136 In your macros, you can include queries that search for shapes that have specific fill properties, outline properties, or color properties. For information, see “Including queries in macros” in the Macros Help file for the application.
Applying uniform fills Uniform fills consist of a single, solid color. A uniform fill is represented by the Fill.UniformColor property as a Color object. You can apply a uniform fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyUniformFill method. The following VBA example applies a red uniform fill to the active shape: ActiveShape.Fill.ApplyUniformFill CreateRGBColor(255, 0, 0) You can change the color of a uniform fill by modifying its Fill.UniformColor property. The following VBA example changes the uniform fill of the active shape to deep navy blue: ActiveShape.Fill.UniformColor.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102 You can remove the uniform fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Applying fountain fills Fountain fills display a progression between two colors. A fountain fill is represented by the Fill.Fountain property as a FountainFill object, which specifies the various properties for the fountain fill: start color, end color, angle, blend type, and so on. The colors in a fountain fill are represented by a FountainColors collection. You can apply a fountain fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyFountainFill method. This method provides optional parameters for various fountain-fill settings, such as the midpoint and offset of the blend. The following VBA example creates a simple linear fountain fill, from red to yellow, at 30 degrees to the horizontal: Dim startCol As New Color, endCol As New Color startCol.RGBAssign 255, 0, 0 endCol.RGBAssign 255, 255, 0 ActiveShape.Fill.ApplyFountainFill startCol, endCol, cdrLinearFountainFill, 30 You can add a color to a fountain fill by using the FountainColors.Add method. Color positions are integer values in percent, where 0% is the start-color position and 100% is the end-color position. The following VBA example adds a green color to the fountain fill at a position about one-third (33%) of the way from the existing red color: Dim fFill As FountainFill
Set fFill = ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 133 fFill.Colors.Add CreateRGBColor(0, 102, 0), 33 You can move a color in a fountain fill by using the FountainColor.Move method. The following VBA code moves the green color from the previous example to a position that is 60% of the way from the red (that is, more towards the yellow): ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain.Colors(1).Move 60 You can use the FountainColors.Count property to determine the number of colors between the start color and end color of a fountain fill. (For the preceding example, this value is 1.) The first color in the collection is that start color, and its index number is 0; this color cannot be moved, but its color can be changed. The last color in the collection is the end color, and its index number is (Count + 1); this color cannot be moved, but its color can be changed. The following VBA code changes the end color from yellow to blue: Dim cols As FountainColors Set cols = ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain.Colors cols(cols.Count + 1).Color.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102 You can remove the fountain fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Applying pattern fills Pattern fills display a series of repeating vector objects or bitmap images. A pattern fill is represented by the Fill.Pattern property as a PatternFill object, which specifies the various properties for the pattern fill: foreground color, background color, tile offset, and so on. The collection of available pattern fills is stored in the PatternCanvases collection. You can apply a pattern fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyPatternFill method. You can remove the pattern fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Applying texture fills Texture fills are fractally generated and fill a shape with one image rather than a series of repeating images. A texture fill is represented by the Fill.Texture property as a TextureFill object, which specifies the various properties for the texture fill: origin, resolution, tile offset, and so on. The properties for a texture fill are stored in a TextureFillProperties collection. You can apply a texture fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyTextureFill method. You can remove the texture fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Applying PostScript fills PostScript fills are texture fills that are designed by using the PostScript language. A PostScript fill is represented by the Fill.PostScript property as a PostScriptFill object, which specifies the various properties for the PostScript fill. You can apply a PostScript fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyPostScriptFill method. You can remove the PostScript fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 134 Applying hatch fills Hatch fills are composed of vector-based lines and can be used to clearly distinguish the materials or object relationships in a drawing. A hatch fill is represented by the Fill.Hatch property as a HatchFill object, which specifies the various properties for the hatch fill. The collection of available hatch-fill patterns is stored in the HatchPatterns collection, and each document stores its own library of hatch-fill patterns in a HatchLibraries collection. You can apply a hatch fill to a shape by using the Fill.ApplyHatchFill method. You can remove the hatch fill from a shape by using the Fill.ApplyNoFill method.
Applying outlines You can use the various properties and methods of the Outline class to define the outline of a shape. The Outline.Type property uses the following constants of the cdrOutlineType enumeration to record whether the specified shape has an outline: • cdrOutline — indicates that the shape has an outline • cdrNoOutline — indicates that the shape does not have an outline If a shape has no outline, setting its Outline.Type property to cdrOutline applies the document-default outline style. If a shape has an outline, setting its Outline.Type property to cdrNoOutline removes that outline. The Outline.Width property for an outline sets its width in document units. In the following VBA example, the outline of the selected shapes is set to 1 millimeter: ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter ActiveSelection.Outline.Width = 1 If a shape does not have an outline, its Outline.Width value is 0. Changing this value applies an outline and automatically changes the value for the Outline.Type property from cdrNoOutline to cdrOutline. Similarly, if a shape has an outline, its Outline.Width value is greater than 0. Changing this value to 0 removes the outline and automatically changes the value for the Outline.Type property from cdrOutline to cdrNoOutline. The Outline.Color property for an outline defines its color, as in the following VBA example: ActiveSelection.Outline.Color.GrayAssign 0 ' Set to black Setting the color of an outline automatically sets the Outline.Type property of that outline to cdrOutline and applies the default outline width. The Outline.Style property for an outline specifies the dash settings of that outline. These dash settings are defined by the following properties of the OutlineStyle class: • DashCount — represents the number of pairs of dashes and gaps in an outline. This value ranges from 1 to 5. • DashLength — represents the length of each dash in an outline. This value is calculated as a multiple of the outline width, which is measured in document units. For example, if DashLength(1) is 5 and the outline is 0.2" wide, the length of the dash is 1"; however, if the width of the line is changed to 0.1", the length of the dash becomes 0.5".
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 135 • GapLength — represents the length ofeach gap in an outline. This value is calculated as a multiple of the outline width, which is measured in document units. • Index — represents the index number of a predefined outline style in the OutlineStyles collection for the application. The OutlineStyles collection is customizable, so the index number that is associated with each outline style in the collection may vary from user to user; however, the expression OutlineStyles.Item(0) always specifies a solid line. Outline objects have many other properties, including the following: • StartArrow and EndArrow — specify the arrowhead on each end of an open curve • LineCaps and LineJoin — respectively, specify the type of line caps (butt, round, or square) and line joins (bevel, miter, or round) • NibAngle and NibStretch — specify the shape of the nib used to draw the outline • BehindFill and ScaleWithShape — respectively, draw the outline behind the fill and scale the outline with the shape Outline objects also have methods, including the following: • ConvertToObject — converts the outline to an object • SetProperties — sets most of the available outline properties in a single call
Working with color The Color class defines the fill colors and outline colors that you apply to shapes. This class provides a number of properties and methods for working with color. You can determine the color model of a color by accessing its Color.Type property, as in the following VBA example: Dim colType As cdrColorType colType = ActiveShape.Outline.Color.Type The Color.Type property is defined by the cdrColorType enumeration, which provides the following constants (among many others) for supported color models: • cdrColorCMYK — specifies the CMYK color model • cdrColorRGB — specifies the RGB color model • cdrColorGray — specifies the grayscale color model The color components for each supported color model are defined by additional properties of the Color class, as demostrated by the following VBA examples: • CMYK color model — is defined by the Color.CMYKCyan, Color.CMYKMagenta, Color.CMYKYellow, and Color.CMYKBlack properties • RGB color model — is defined by the Color.RGBRed, Color.RGBGreen, and Color.RGBBlue properties • grayscale color model — is defined by the Color.Gray property The range of values that is supported by a color component depends on the color model for that component.
To create a color, you can use the automation keyword New, as in Dim col As New Color.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 136 To assign a color model to a new color, you can use the desired ...Assign method (such as Color.CMYKAssign, Color.RGBAssign, or Color.GrayAssign). Each of these methods provides one parameter for each color component in its respective color model. For example, col.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102 assigns a deep-blue RGB color to the new color that was created in the previous tip. To use the application’s color-management settings to change the color model that is assigned to a color, you can use the desired ConvertTo... method (such as Color.ConvertToCMYK, Color.ConvertToRGB, or Color.ConvertToGray). For example, ActiveShape.Fill.UniformColor.ConvertToRGB converts the fill of the active shape to the RGB color model. You can copy the properties of one color to another color by using the Color.CopyAssign method, as in the following VBA example: Dim sh As Shape Set sh = ActiveShape sh.Outline.Color.CopyAssign sh.Fill.UniformColor The color “none” does not exist. To set a fill color or outline color to “none,” you must instead set the fill type or outline type to “none.”
Applying effects to shapes The object model provides a number of methods for applying effects to shapes. For information on these methods, see the following subtopics: • “Applying blends” on page 137 • “Applying contours” on page 138 • “Applying customized effects” on page 138 • “Applying distortions” on page 138 • “Applying drop shadows” on page 138 • “Applying envelopes” on page 139 • “Applying extrusions” on page 139 • “Applying lenses” on page 139 • “Applying perspective” on page 139 Applying an effect returns an Effect object, which lets you access various properties and methods for the created effect. For example, you can use the Effect.Separate method to separate the shapes that are generated by an effect from the shape to which that effect is applied. In addition, you can use the Effect.Clear method to remove an effect from a shape.
Applying blends The Shape.CreateBlend method creates a blend between the current shape and the shape that is specified as a parameter. This method provides optional parameters for various blend settings, such as the acceleration of the blend and the path along which the blend is created. The following VBA code creates a basic ten-step blend: Dim sh As Shapes, eff As Effect
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 137 Set sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes Set eff = sh(1).CreateBlend(sh(2), 10) In the preceding example, the number of shapes in the blend is twelve: the start and end shapes, plus the ten blend steps that are created. The Shape.CreateBlend method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Blend property for which you can use to modify the created blend.
Applying contours The Shape.CreateContour method applies a contour to a shape. This method provides optional parameters for various contour settings, such as the colors and acceleration of the contour. The following VBA code creates a three-step contour at a five-millimeter spacing: Dim eff As Effect ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter Set eff = ActiveShape.CreateContour(cdrContourOutside, 5, 3) The Shape.CreateContour method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Contour property for which you can use to modify the created contour.
Applying customized effects The Shape.CreateCustomEffect method applies a customized effect to a shape. This method provides parameters for various effect settings. The Shape.CreateCustomEffect method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Custom property for which you can use to modify the created effect.
Applying distortions The following methods apply a distortion to a shape: • Shape.CreatePushPullDistortion — applies a Push-and-pull distortion • Shape.CreateTwisterDistortion — applies a Twister distortion • Shape.CreateZipperDistortion — applies a Zipper distortion • Shape.CreateCustomDistortion — applies a customized distortion These methods provide parameters for various distortion settings. The distortion-creation methods return an Effect object, the Effect.Distortion property for which you can use to modify the created distortion. If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by distorting a shape: • Document.ShapeDistort
Applying drop shadows The Shape.CreateDropShadow method applies a drop shadow to a shape. This method provides optional parameters for various drop-shadow settings, such as the feathering and offset of the drop shadow.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 138 The Shape.CreateDropShadow method returns an Effect object, the Effect.DropShadow property for which you can use to modify the created drop shadow.
Applying envelopes The following methods apply an envelope to a shape: • Shape.CreateEnvelope — applies a basic envelope • Shape.CreateEnvelopeFromCurve — applies an envelope by using the specified curve as a template • Shape.CreateEnvelopeFromShape — applies an envelope by using the specified shape as a template These methods provide parameters for various envelope settings. The envelope-creation methods return an Effect object, the Effect.Envelope property for which you can use to modify the created envelope.
Applying extrusions The Shape.CreateExtrude method applies an extrusion to a shape. This method provides optional parameters for various extrusion settings, such as the angle and color of the extrusion. The Shape.CreateExtrude method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Extrude property for which you can use to modify the created extrusion.
Applying lenses The Shape.CreateLens method applies a lens to a shape. This method provides optional parameters for various lens settings, such as the color and magnitude of the lens. The Shape.CreateLens method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Lens property for which you can use to modify the created lens.
Applying perspective The Shape.CreatePerspective method applies perspective to a shape. This method provides optional parameters for specifying horizontal and vertical vanishing points. The Shape.CreatePerspective method returns an Effect object, the Effect.Perspective property for which you can use to modify the created perspective effect.
Searching for shapes In your macros, you can include queries that search for shapes that have specific shape properties, fill properties, outline properties, or color properties. To do this, you use Corel Query Language (CQL) in conjunction with one of the following methods: • Shape.Evaluate — returns the result of a given expression that evaluates the properties of the current shape • Shapes.FindShape — returns a single shape that has the specified properties • Shapes.FindShapes — returns, as a shape range, all shapes that have the specified properties You can specify the shape properties for which to search. For example, the expression ActiveShape.Evaluate("@name") searches searches the Name property of all selected shapes.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 139 Consider the following VBA code sample, in which the Ty p e property and the Width property are used to select all rectangles that are wider than two inches: ActivePage.Shapes.FindShapes(Query := "@type = 'rectangle' and _ @width > {2 in}").CreateSelection For comprehensive information on using CQL, see “Including queries in macros” in the Macros Help file for the application.
Deleting shapes If you want, you can use event handlers to respond to events that are triggered by deleting a shape: • Document.ShapeDelete
Working with import filters and export filters As previously discussed, methods are available for importing files (see “Importing files into layers” on page 103) and exporting files (see “Exporting files from documents” on page 89). These file-import and file-export methods can also be used for performing batch conversions or modifying file repositories. The wide selection of supported file formats is due to the vast number of filters that are available to the application. Each filter lets you work with the files from another graphics application.
In this topic To learn more about working with filters, see the following subtopics: • “Working with import filters” on page 140 • “Working with export filters” on page 142
Working with import filters To ensure the portability of a file-import script, you must use the default ImportFilter object (rather than the filter-specific object DSFImport), as in the following VBA example: Sub OpenRectangle() Dim FilterObject As ImportFilter 'Initialize FilterObject Set FilterObject = ActiveLayer.ImportEx("C:\devo\rect.dsf", _ cdrDSF) 'Set the advanced features of the filter FilterObject.DefaultLinestyle = 1 'Dashed FilterObject.DeleteInvisibleObjects = True 'Invoke the filter
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 140 FilterObject.Finish End Sub For best results, use the filter-specific object DSFImport only to learn the specific interfaces that are supported by a filter. For example, the following screenshot demonstrates that the ImportFilter object exposes only generic interfaces in Microsoft® IntelliSense® because the ImportFilter interface is generic (and not filter-specific). The ImportFilter object does not contain the DefaultLinestyle and DeleteInvisibleObjects properties; however, you can still set these properties in the ImportFilter interface if they are supported by the specified import filter.
As previously discussed, using the ImportFilter object (rather than the filter-specific object DSFImport) ensures that a file-import script can be used on any other workstation running the same version of the application. To reference the properties, methods, and enumerations for a specific filter, locate that filter in the Object Browser. For example, the following screenshot demonstrates that the line-style dsfDashed2 can be specified by assigning a value of 7 to the DefaultLinestyle property.
To access the object model for a filter, click To o l s References from within the Macro Editor. In the References dialog box that appears, click Browse, and navigate to the Filters folder of the installed software. Select the dynamic-link library (DLL) file for the desired filter, and then click OK. When the References dialog box reappears, enable the checkbox that corresponds to the desired filter, and then click OK. You can now access the object model for the filter, as in the following VBA example: Sub OpenRectangleDSF() Dim FilterObject As DSFImport Dim Style As DsfLinestyle 'Initialize FilterObject
Set FilterObject = ActiveLayer.ImportEx("C:\devo\rect.dsf", _
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 141 cdrDSF) 'Set the advanced features of the filter Style = dsfDashed FilterObject.DefaultLinestyle = Style FilterObject.DeleteInvisibleObjects = True 'Invoke the filter FilterObject.Finish End Sub
Working with an import filter is made much easier by having the script access the object model for that filter; however, as discussed, this technique reduces the portability of the script. When used at another workstation, the script must first be updated with the correct location of the DLL file for the filter.
Working with export filters The following VBA example demonstrates how to save a document as an AutoCAD DXF file by using an export filter: Sub SaveRectangleDXF() Dim FilterObject As DXFExport Dim BitmapType As DxfBitmapType Dim TextAsCurves As Boolean Dim Units As DxfUnits Dim Version As DxfVersion 'Initialize FilterObject Set FilterObject = ActiveDocument.ExportEx("C:\devo\rect.dxf", _ cdrDXF) 'Set the advanced features of the filter BitmapType = dxfBitmapGIF
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 142 FilterObject.BitmapType = BitmapType Units = dxfInches FilterObject.Units = Units TextAsCurves = False FilterObject.TextAsCurves = TextAsCurves Version = dxfVersion2000 FilterObject.Version = Version 'Invoke the filter FilterObject.Finish End Sub In the preceding example, a call is made to ActiveDocument.ExportEx method, and the interface for the export filter (DXFExport) is invoked. However, you can use the generic export interface (ExportFilter) rather than the filter-specific interface (DXFExport), as in the following VBA example: Sub SaveRectangle() Dim FilterObject As ExportFilter 'Initialize FilterObject Set FilterObject = ActiveDocument.ExportEx("C:\devo\rect.dxf", cdrDXF) 'Set the advanced features of the filter FilterObject.BitmapType = 1 'GIF FilterObject.Units = 0 'Inches FilterObject.TextAsCurves = False FilterObject.Version = 1 'AutoCAD 2000 'Invoke the filter FilterObject.Finish End Sub The following VBA example demonstrates how to invoke the Export dialog box: Sub ShowExportDialog() Dim FilterObject As ExportFilter Dim vntReturn As Variant 'Initialize FilterObject Set FilterObject = ActiveDocument.ExportEx("C:\devo\rect.dxf", cdrDXF) 'If FilterObject supports a dialog, invoke it If (FilterObject.HasDialog = True) Then vntReturn = FilterObject.ShowDialog
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 143 'Verify that the user clicked "OK" and not "Cancel" If (vntReturn = True) Then 'Invoke the filter FilterObject.Finish End If End If End Sub The preceding example requires you to check the return value of the dialog box, and to invoke the Finish method for when the user clicks OK.
Arranging open documents You can arrange and dock multiple open documents to suit your needs. When you drag a document out of the main window, it is placed in a new floating window. In the VBA object model, these windows are called FrameWindows. The main frame window hosts the menu, status bar and all the dockers by default; and, when closed, causes the application to quit. Application.FrameWork.MainFrameWindow represents the main frame window. Application.FrameWork.FrameWindows is a collection of all the frame windows, including the main frame and frame windows that host floating dockers and floating toolbars. A DockHost is a linear docking region that can host one or more items which, in turn, could be DockHost or ViewHost items. A DockHost is similar to a one-dimensional table. It can be either horizontal or vertical. To create complicated two-dimensional layouts, you must nest the DockHosts. The end-node of this DockHost tree is a ViewHost that contains one or more view windows. They are the tabbed window controls as seen in the UI with each document view as a tab.The following screen capture and diagram show an example of CorelDRAW containing 5 views and how this layout was achieved by using DockHosts and ViewHosts.
Sample layout
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 144 A horizontal DockHost can contain only vertical DockHosts as immediate children. That is, you cannot split a cell inside a horizontal DockHost horizontally. Instead, you must insert another cell. For more information about arranging open documents, see the following topics: • “Understanding the layout structure” on page 145 • “Combining views” on page 147 • “Cascading views” on page 148 •“Tiling views” on page149
Understanding the layout structure The following macro walks through the docking structure of each frame window and prints the layout structure (to the VBA Immediate window): Sub DumpLayout() Dim s As String Dim f As FrameWindow For Each f In FrameWork.FrameWindows DumpFrameWindows f, 0, s Next f Debug.Print s End Sub Private Sub DumpDockItem(d As DockItem, indent As Long, ByRef s As String) If d.Type = cuiDockItemDockHost Then DumpDockHost d.DockHost, indent, s Else DumpViewHost d.ViewHost, indent, s End If End Sub Private Sub DumpDockHost(d As DockHost, indent As Long, ByRef s As String) If d Is Nothing Then Exit Sub Dim item As DockItem s = s & Space(indent) & "DockHost: " & d.ID & " - " & IIf(d.Orientation = _ cuiDockHostHorizontal, "H", "V") & vbCrLf For Each item In d.Children DumpDockItem item, indent + 2, s Next item
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 145 End Sub Private Sub DumpViewWindow(w As ViewWindow, indent As Long, ByRef s As String) s = s & Space(indent) & "View: " & w.ID & " - Kind: " & w.Kind & " - " & w.Title & _ " / " & w.Description & vbCrLf End Sub Private Sub DumpViewHost(v As ViewHost, indent As Long, ByRef s As String) Dim w As ViewWindow s = s & Space(indent) & "ViewHost: " & v.ID & " - " & v.Views.Count & " view(s)" & _ vbCrLf For Each w In v.Views DumpViewWindow w, indent + 2, s Next End Sub Private Sub DumpFrameWindows(f As FrameWindow, indent As Long, ByRef s As String) s = s & Space(indent) & "FrameWindow: " & f.ID & " - " & IIf(f.IsMainFrame, _ "MainFrame", "Secondary") & vbCrLf DumpDockHost f.RootDockHost, indent + 2, s s = s & vbCrLf End Sub If you run the DumpLayout macro for the “Sample layout” on page 144, you will see an output similar to the following:
FrameWindow: Framework_MainFrame - MainFrame DockHost: fc796773-64ff-4250-8d64-3bd07fd9352f - V DockHost: 1304df1c-d014-4daf-a755-c0fbbd983127 - H ViewHost: 5795efd1-b582-4b80-b05c-469450c3babd - 2 view(s) View: a961c249-6f05-4fbf-bb83-311d82c2444a - Kind: 1a9379f7-f018-3eb7-41e2- 51436969b66f - Welcome Screen /
View: 7a1d8b68-a01f-45ad-80bc-67a8ab2b1a86 - Kind: ab303a90-464d-5191-423f- 613c4d1dcb2c - Untitled-4 / Untitled-4
DockHost: ed290c1b-448e-49e6-a1e4-fbee981b9545 - V ViewHost: 3ad110d1-94cb-4cab-9fab-2b431086aed4 - 1 view(s) View: 235e9f22-79c5-42ed-ad20-9fa17248c83c - Kind: ab303a90-464d-5191-423f- 613c4d1dcb2c - Untitled-2 / Untitled-2
ViewHost: e713b707-d067-4ef8-a60e-7ff492b545df - 1 view(s)
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 146 View: 338e338a-0f03-4013-965e-ceac1725bef9 - Kind: ab303a90-464d-5191-423f- 613c4d1dcb2c - Untitled-3 / Untitled-3
ViewHost: 14f31f64-f810-4934-8c37-4f733393317e - 1 view(s) View: dedddb8a-3bd7-46bc-9e14-0179c00963db - Kind: ab303a90-464d-5191-423f- 613c4d1dcb2c - Untitled-1 / Untitled-1
Each of the elements — FrameWindow, DockHost, ViewHost, ViewWindow— have unique IDs (GUID) that you can use to identify the elements. A view window also has a GUID that lets you differentiate the Welcome screen (kind: 1a9379f7-f018-3eb7-41e2-51436969b66f) from a regular document window (kind: ab303a90-464d-5191-423f-613c4d1dcb2c).
Combining views The following VBA example takes all the document views and places them all in one ViewHost in the main frame window. Any docked or floating documents are placed in the main frame. Sub CombineAllViews() Dim vh As ViewHost, vhc As ViewHost Dim f As FrameWindow For Each f In FrameWork.FrameWindows For Each vh In f.ViewHosts If vhc Is Nothing Then If FrameWork.MainFrameWindow.ViewHosts.Count = 0 Then _ FrameWork.MainFrameWindow.RootDockHost.InsertViewHost vh, 1 Set vhc = vh Else vhc.InsertViewHost vh, vhc.Views.Count + 1 End If Next vh Next f End Sub If the preceding macro is run on the “Sample layout” on page 144, the views are combined, and all open documents appear tabbed.
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 147 The open documents appear tabbed.
Cascading views The following VBA example cascades all the views by extracting each view into its own floating window and arranging the views on top of the main frame window. Sub CascadeViews() Dim vh As ViewHost, rc As ScreenRect, v As ViewWindow, fw As FrameWindow Set rc = FrameWork.MainFrameWindow.RootDockHost.Position.GetCopy rc.Resize rc.Width * 0.75, rc.Height * 0.75 For Each vh In FrameWork.MainFrameWindow.ViewHosts For Each v In vh.views
Set fw = FrameWork.CreateFrameWindowForView(v) fw.Position.CopyAssign rc
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 148 fw.Position.CopyAssign rc rc.Move rc.Left + 20, rc.Top + 20 Next v Next vh End Sub
Cascading views
Tiling views The following VBA macro tiles all the views inside the main frame window by using a grid. Sub TileViews() Dim views As New Collection Dim fw As FrameWindow Dim vh As ViewHost, vw As ViewWindow, dh As DockHost Dim rows As Long, cols As Long
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 149 Dim x As Long, y As Long, i As Long Dim r As DockItem, c As DockItem For Each fw In FrameWork.FrameWindows For Each vh In fw.ViewHosts For Each vw In vh.views views.Add vw Next vw Next vh Next fw If views.Count = 0 Then Exit Sub rows = CLng(Sqr(views.Count)) cols = (views.Count + rows - 1) \ rows Set fw = FrameWork.MainFrameWindow For y = 1 To rows i = (y - 1) * cols + 1 If dh Is Nothing Then If fw.RootDockHost.Orientation = cuiDockHostVertical Then Set vh = fw.RootDockHost.InsertView(views(i), y) Set dh = vh.DockHost Else Set vh = fw.RootDockHost.InsertView(views(i), 0, cuiDockOperationSplitTopLeft) Set dh = vh.DockHost End If Else Set vh = dh.InsertView(views(i), y) End If For x = 2 To cols i = i + 1 If i <= views.Count Then If dh.Children(y).Type = cuiDockItemDockHost Then dh.Children(y).DockHost.InsertView views(i), x Else dh.InsertView views(i), y, cuiDockOperationSplitBottomRight End If End If Next x Next y
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 150 For Each r In fw.RootDockHost.Children r.RelativeSize = fw.RootDockHost.Position.Height / rows If r.Type = cuiDockItemDockHost Then For Each c In r.DockHost.Children c.RelativeSize = fw.RootDockHost.Position.Width / cols Next c End If Next r End Sub
Tiled views
Macro Programming Guide Understanding the object models 151 Glossary argument See “parameter.” array A set of sequentially indexed objects of the same data type (or “array elements”) Each array element has the same data type (although elements can have different values), and the entire array is stored contiguously in memory (with no gaps between elements). For example, you could have an array of integers or an array of characters or an array of anything that has a defined data type. By default, array indexes are zero-based. Arrays can have more than one dimension. A one-dimensional array is called a “vector,” while a two-dimensional array is called a “matrix.” automation The process of recording or scripting a macro class The definition of each property, method, and event that applies to a type of object in the application class module A type of module that contains the definition of an object-oriented Visual Basic class, including the definitions of the properties and methods for that class collection A group of objects that have similar characteristics and similar actions but that are uniquely identified by index names or index numbers Collections are always plural. For example, Documents is a collection of Document objects. constant A value in an automation-programming structure that remains fixed while the macro is being executed Unlike a variable, which temporarily stores a changing data value in a code procedure or code function, constant values do not change. A constant is an instance of an enumeration. dithering The process of simulating color by putting dots of another color very close together
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 152 The Windows operating system uses dithering to display colors that the graphics adapter cannot display. enumeration Also called an “enumerated type,” a data type that lists all possible values for the variables that use it Unlike a variable, which temporarily stores a changing data value, an enumeration stores fixed values. A constant is an instance of an enumeration. enumerated type See “enumeration.” event An action that takes place in an object and that is recognized by a form or control Each object within an object model is defined by a property, method, event, or a combination of each. An event is triggered by an action — such as a click, key press, or system timer — and you can write code that causes an object to respond to that event. event-driven programming A style of programming, unlike traditional procedural programming (in which the program starts at line 1 and executes line by line), that executes code in response to events Visual Basic for Applications is an event-driven programming language. Most of the code you create is written to respond to an event. Compare with “object-oriented programming.” event handler A subroutine that is programmed to cause the application to respond to a specific event form A type of module that is used for customized dialog boxes and user interfaces, and that includes the code to control them function A procedure that performs a given task in a macro and that can be used to return a value
A function procedure begins with a Function statement and ends with an End Function statement. In VBA and VSTA, functions do not need to be declared before being used, nor before being defined. gap A space between dashes in an outline style
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 153 global value A value that applies to a given project in its entirety
GMS file Also called a “project file” (and short for “Global Macro Storage file”), the location to which the Macro Editor stores all modules for a project index number A reference to an object in a collection that contains more than one object An index number is used to identify each object in a collection. The index number can range from 1 to the number of available objects within the collection. macro A recorded or scripted set of tasks that can be repeatedly invoked within an application A macro is a symbol, name, or key that represents a list of commands. method An operation that an object can have performed on itself modal dialog box A dialog box thatlocks the application and must be acted upon (that is, either submitted or cancelled) before the macro can be resumed Most built-in dialog boxes that can be controlled by automation coding are modal. modeless dialog box A dialog box that does not lock the application and can be left open while the user continues working in the application Modeless dialog boxes behave like dockers. module A container that is used by a GMS file for storing project components Generic modules are used for general code and for macros. Other types of modules include forms and class modules. object When referring to an object model, an instance of a class object model A high-level structure of the relationship between the parent objects and child objects in an application
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 154 For example, the Application object represents the beginning of the object hierarchy. From the Application object, you can “drill down” and navigate through the object model until you find the desired object. To reference an object with Visual Basic code, you separate each level of the object hierarchy with the dot operator ( . ). object-oriented programming A style of programming that places emphasis on creating and using objects Compare with “event-driven programming.” parameter Synonymous with “argument,” a value that is passed to a routine and that defines a characteristic of an object in the Visual Basic programming environment Parameters are attributes that appear after a recorded command in the Recorder docker. For example, dialog- box options are not recorded as separate commands in the Recorder docker; they are recorded as attributes of the command that initially invoked the dialog box. passing by reference The act of passing an argument to a function or subroutine by using a reference to the original By default, function parameters and subroutine parameters are passed by reference. To explicity indicate that you want to pass an argument by reference, prefix the argument with ByRef. passing by value The act of passing an argument to a function or subroutine by using a copy of the original
To explicity indicate that you want to pass an argument by value, prefix the argument with ByVal. property A characteristic of a class Properties can be returned or set. In addition, properties can be designated as read-only (to indicate that they are fixed by the design of the class). range A series of similar objects scope The visibility of a data type, procedure, or object shortcut object A syntactic replacement for the longhand version of an object
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 155 String A data type consisting of a sequence of contiguous characters that represent the characters themselves rather than their numeric values
A string can include letters, numbers, spaces, and punctuation. The String data type can store fixed-length strings ranging in length from 0 to approximately 63K characters and dynamic strings ranging in length from 0 to approximately 2 billion characters. The dollar sign ( $ ) type-declaration character represents a string in Visual Basic. sub See “subroutine.” subroutine Sometimes called a “sub,” a procedure that performs a given task in a macro but cannot be used to return a value
A subroutine procedure begins with a Sub statement and ends with an End Sub statement. In VBA and VSTA, subroutines do not need to be declared before being used, nor before being defined. variable An item that can be created (or “declared”) for the purposes of storing data
The built-in data types are Boolean, Double, Integer, Long, Single, String, Variant, and several other less- used types including Date, Decimal, and Object. If a variable is not declared before being used, the compiler interprets it as a Variant.
Variant
The data type for all variables that are not declared as another type, such as Dim, Private, Public, or Static
The Variant data type has no type-declaration character.
VBA A built-in programming language that can automate repetitive functions and create intelligent solutions in a software application VBA is a subset of the Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) object-driven programming environment, but it is considered “for applications” because it is most often integrated into another application to customize the functionality of that application.
Visual Basic for Applications See “VBA.”
Visual Studio Tools for Applications See “VSTA.”
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 156 VSTA The successor to VBA VSTA is based on Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. The integrated development environment (IDE) for VSTA can be used to support two additional programming languages (Visual Basic .NET and C#) and to take advantage of the .NET framework natively.
Macro Programming Guide Glossary 157 Index
A adding to macro projects ...... 48 activating classes documents ...... 84 understanding ...... 14 layers ...... 102 closing pages ...... 97 documents ...... 93 shapes ...... 124 macro projects ...... 47 allocating memory ...... 19 code Application class stepping through ...... 56 understanding ...... 75 understanding structure of ...... 16 arcs ...... 116 code modules adding macros ...... 48 arguments, passing ...... 20 adding to macro projects ...... 47 arrays deleting ...... 48 declaring ...... 18 displaying or hiding ...... 47 editing ...... 47 ...... 20 assignments, Boolean renaming ...... 47 automation Code window in Macro Editor ...... 33 coding structure ...... 16 setting up ...... 28 coding dialog boxes ...... 63 supported environments ...... 9 collections understanding ...... 8 counting items in ...... 24 use of object models in ...... 14 parsing items in ...... 24 automation elements ...... 13 referencing in macros ...... 23 referencing items in ...... 23 understanding ...... 15 B color components ...... 136 bitwise operators ...... 21 color models blends ...... 137 specifying color components ...... 136 specifying for colors ...... 136 Boolean comparisons and assignments ...... 20 working with ...... 136 breakpoints ...... 55 coloring building functions and subroutines ...... 18 shapes ...... 132 buttons syntax ...... 35 adding to macro toolbars ...... 58 colors providing in dialog boxes ...... 64 converting color models for ...... 136 copying properties ...... 136 creating ...... 136 C specifying color models ...... 136 C and C++ working with ...... 136 vs. VBA ...... 12 combination boxes Call Stack window ...... 53 providing in dialog boxes ...... 64 captions, macro ...... 58 command groups ...... 88 checking syntax ...... 35 comments, in macro code ...... 19 circles ...... 116 comparisons, Boolean ...... 20 class modules completion of code, automatic ...... 36
Macro Programming Guide Index 158 constants displaying understanding ...... 16 documents ...... 86 layers ...... 102 contextual pop-up lists for coding ...... 36 distortions ...... 138 contours ...... 138 controls, dialog box documentation, macro creating ...... 69 list of available ...... 61 using ...... 4 converting color models ...... 136 documents coordinates, capturing ...... 68 activating ...... 84 copying closing ...... 93
color properties ...... 136 creating ...... 83
macro projects ...... 47 creating command groups ...... 88 displaying ...... 86 counting items in a collection ...... 24 exporting files ...... 89 curves ...... 117 modifying ...... 88 opening ...... 84 customized effects ...... 138 printing ...... 92 publishing to PDF ...... 91 D saving ...... 88 setting properties ...... 85 Debug toolbar ...... 37 working with ...... 75 debugging macros drawing scales ...... 85 methods for ...... 53 drop shadows ...... 138 windows for ...... 53 duplicating shapes ...... 128 declaring arrays ...... 18 enumerations ...... 18 E strings ...... 17 variables ...... 17 Edit toolbar ...... 37 defining scope ...... 20 editing code modules ...... 47 definitions, jumping to ...... 36 macros ...... 49 deploying effects, shape ...... 137 macros ...... 71 workspaces ...... 71 elements, automation ...... 13 deselecting shapes ...... 127 ellipses ...... 116 designing dialog boxes ...... 61 ending lines ...... 19 dialog boxes enumerated types (enumerations) ...... 16 adding to macro projects ...... 47 enumerations coding ...... 63 declaring ...... 18 designing ...... 61 understanding ...... 16 displaying ...... 63 ...... 139 macro ...... 59 envelopes naming ...... 63 event handlers ...... 25 providing buttons ...... 64 events providing combination boxes ...... 64 understanding ...... 16 providing images in ...... 66 providing list boxes ...... 64 export filters providing text boxes ...... 64 understanding ...... 140 setting up ...... 60 working with ...... 142 testing ...... 63 exporting
Macro Programming Guide Index 159 documents to PDF ...... 91 import filters files ...... 89 understanding ...... 140 GMS files ...... 72 working with ...... 140 workspace features ...... 72 importing extrusions ...... 139 files ...... 103 GMS files ...... 72 workspace features ...... 72 F input boxes ...... 22 files exporting ...... 89 inserting pages ...... 96 importing ...... 103 installing VBA and VSTA ...... 28 fills fountain ...... 133 J hatch ...... 135 pattern ...... 134 Java and JavaScript PostScript ...... 134 vs. VBA ...... 11 texture ...... 134 jumping to definitions ...... 36 uniform ...... 133 filters ...... 140 L Form Designer ...... 60 layers ...... 34 formatting code activating ...... 102 forms (dialog boxes) creating ...... 102 adding to projects ...... 47 deleting ...... 104 creating ...... 59 hiding and displaying ...... 102 importing files ...... 103 fountain fills ...... 133 locking and unlocking ...... 102 functions renaming ...... 103 building ...... 18 reordering ...... 103 jumping to definitions ...... 36 working with ...... 100 lenses ...... 139 G lines of code, ending ...... 19 getting started with macros ...... 28 lines, creating ...... 117 GMS files list boxes exporting ...... 72 providing in dialog boxes ...... 64 importing ...... 72 loading macro projects ...... 46 working with ...... 45 Locals window ...... 53 H locking layers ...... 102 ...... 21 hatch fills ...... 135 logical operators hiding layers ...... 102 M I Macro Editor Code window ...... 33 icons, macro ...... 58 debugging windows ...... 53 images Object Browser ...... 38 associating with macros ...... 58 Project Explorer ...... 32 providing in dialog boxes ...... 66 Properties window ...... 37 toolbars ...... 37 Immediate window ...... 53 using ...... 31
Macro Programming Guide Index 160 Macro Manager docker ...... 30 understanding ...... 16 macro projects modal dialog boxes adding class modules ...... 48 understanding ...... 59 adding code modules ...... 47 vs. modeless ...... 60 adding dialog boxes ...... 47 modeless dialog boxes
adding macros ...... 48 understanding ...... 60
copying ...... 47 vs. modal ...... 60 creating ...... 46 loading ...... 46 mouse renaming ...... 46 capturing clicks ...... 67 understanding ...... 45 capturing coordinates ...... 68 unloading ...... 47 capturing drags ...... 68 macro resources ...... 4 macro toolbars N adding buttons ...... 58 naming dialog boxes ...... 63 creating ...... 58 macros O adding to macro projects ...... 48 captions for ...... 58 Object Browser in Macro Editor comments in ...... 19 Class list ...... 39 creating ...... 45 Information window ...... 42 debugging ...... 53 Member list ...... 40 deleting ...... 49 search controls ...... 42 deploying ...... 71 using ...... 38 editing ...... 49 object model getting started with ...... 28 definition of ...... 14 images or icons for ...... 58 overview of ...... 74 options for ...... 28 organizing ...... 71 objects providing dialog boxes ...... 59 jumping to definitions ...... 36 providing documentation ...... 69 referencing in macros ...... 22 providing event handlers in ...... 25 understanding ...... 14 providing user interaction ...... 66 using shortcuts in macros ...... 25 recording ...... 49 opening
referencing collections ...... 23 documents ...... 84 referencing objects ...... 22 macro projects ...... 46 running ...... 52 sample ...... 9 operators toolbars for ...... 57 logical and bitwise ...... 21 tooltips for ...... 59 organizing macros ...... 71 understanding ...... 8 using object shortcuts in ...... 25 orientation, page ...... 98 writing ...... 48 outlines ...... 135 Macros toolbar Corel PHOTO-PAINT ...... 30 P CorelDRAW ...... 29 using ...... 29 pages activating ...... 97 memory pointers ...... 19 deleting ...... 100 memory, allocating ...... 19 inserting ...... 96 message boxes ...... 22 modifying ...... 99 reordering ...... 98 methods sizing ...... 98
Macro Programming Guide Index 161 specifying size and orientation ...... 98 objects in macros ...... 22 working with ...... 94 renaming panning documents ...... 87 code modules ...... 47 layers ...... 103 parsing items in a collection ...... 24 macro projects ...... 46 passing arguments projects ...... 48 passing by reference ...... 20 reordering passing by value ...... 20 layers ...... 103 understanding ...... 20 pages ...... 98 pattern fills ...... 134 shapes in selections ...... 127 PDF, publishing to ...... 91 resources perspective effects ...... 139 for macros ...... 4 for software ...... 5 pie shapes ...... 116 rotating shapes ...... 131 playing macros ...... 52 running macros pointers, memory ...... 19 methods for ...... 52 pop-up lists for coding ...... 36 saved ...... 52 temporary ...... 52 positioning shapes ...... 131 PostScript fills ...... 134 S printing documents ...... 92 sample macros ...... 9 Project Explorer in Macro Editor ...... 32 saving project files documents ...... 88 creating ...... 45 recorded macros ...... 50 exporting ...... 72 ...... 85 importing ...... 72 scales, drawing projects, macro scaling shapes ...... 130 creating ...... 45 scope, defining ...... 20 properties searching for understanding ...... 15 shapes ...... 139 Properties window ...... 37 selecting properties, color shapes ...... 124 copying ...... 136 selections publishing to PDF ...... 91 accessing copies of ...... 126 accessing directly ...... 125 accessing shapes in ...... 127 R reordering shapes in ...... 127 recording macros setting breakpoints ...... 55 for future use ...... 50 shapes for temporary use ...... 51 accessing in selections ...... 127 methods for ...... 49 applying effects ...... 137 rectangles ...... 115 coloring ...... 132 creating ...... 115 ...... 85 reference points deleting ...... 140 reference, passing by ...... 20 deselecting ...... 127 determining type ...... 124 referencing duplicating ...... 128 collections in macros ...... 23 positioning ...... 131 items in collections ...... 23 reordering in selections ...... 127
Macro Programming Guide Index 162 rotating ...... 131 Debug ...... 37 scaling ...... 130 Edit ...... 37 searching for ...... 139 Macros ...... 29 selecting ...... 124 Standard ...... 37 sizing ...... 128 UserForm ...... 37 skewing ...... 130 toolbars, macro stretching ...... 130 adding buttons ...... 58 transforming ...... 128 creating ...... 58 working with ...... 104 providing ...... 57 shortcuts tooltips, macro ...... 59 using in macros ...... 25 transforming shapes ...... 128 size, page default, specifying ...... 98 specifying ...... 98 U using defined ...... 99 Undo string sizing setting for documents ...... 88 pages ...... 98 shapes ...... 128 uniform fills ...... 133 skewing shapes ...... 130 units of measurement setting for documents ...... 85 software resources ...... 5 unloading macro projects ...... 47 squares ...... 115 unlocking layers ...... 102 Standard toolbar ...... 37 user interaction, providing for macros ...... 66 stepping through code ...... 56 user interfaces, providing for macros ...... 57 stretching shapes ...... 130 UserForm toolbar ...... 37 strings declaring ...... 17 structuring code ...... 16 V subroutines ...... 18 value, passing by ...... 20 subs (subroutines) ...... 18 variables declaring ...... 17 supported automation environments ...... 9 jumping to definitions ...... 36 symbols ...... 121 VB ...... 11 syntax VBA checking automatically ...... 35 installing ...... 28 coloring automatically ...... 35 options for ...... 28 understanding ...... 10 T vs. C and C++ ...... 12 vs. Java and JavaScript ...... 11 temporary macros vs. VB ...... 11 recording ...... 51 vs. VBScript ...... 11 running ...... 52 vs. Windows Script Host ...... 12 testing dialog boxes ...... 63 VBScript ...... 11 text boxes views ...... 86 providing in dialog boxes ...... 64 Visual Basic (VB) ...... 11 ...... 119 text objects Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) ...... 10 ...... 134 texture fills Visual Basic Script (VBScript) ...... 11 toolbars
Macro Programming Guide Index 163 Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) . . . .12 VSTA installing ...... 28 understanding ...... 12 VSTA Editor ...... 43
W Watches window ...... 53 windows ...... 86 Windows Script Host vs. VBA ...... 12 workspaces deploying ...... 71 exporting features ...... 72 importing features ...... 72 writing macros ...... 48
Z zooming in documents ...... 87
Macro Programming Guide Index 164 Copyright © 2014 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X7 Macro Programming Guide Product specifications, pricing, packaging, technical support and information (“specifications”) refer to the retail English version only. The specifications for all other versions (including other language versions) may vary. Information is provided by Corel on an “as is” basis, without any other warranties or conditions, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantable quality, satisfactory quality, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or those arising by law, statute, usage of trade, course of dealing or otherwise. The entire risk as to the results of the information provided or its use is assumed by you. Corel shall have no liability to you or any other person or entity for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, loss of revenue or profit, lost or damaged data or other commercial or economic loss, even if Corel has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or they are foreseeable. Corel is also not liable for any claims made by any third party. Corel’s maximum aggregate liability to you shall not exceed the costs paid by you to purchase the materials. Some states/countries do not allow exclusions or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you. Corel, CorelDRAW, the CorelDRAW balloon, Corel DESIGNER, and Corel PHOTO-PAINT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product, font and company names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Patents: www.corel.com/patent 212024